Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
2020's Final Mars Mission Poised for Blastoff From Florida
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 29, 2020

Share

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The summer’s third and final mission to Mars — featuring NASA’s most elaborate life-hunting rover — is on the verge of liftoff, with the launch is scheduled for Thursday at 4:50 a.m.
The rover Perseverance will follow China’s rover-orbiter combo and a United Arab Emirates orbiter, both launched last week. It will take the spacecraft seven months to reach Mars after traveling 300 million miles.
Once on the surface, Perseverance will scrounge for evidence of past microscopic life in an ancient lakebed, and gather the most promising rock samples for future pickup. NASA is teaming up with the European Space Agency to return the samples to Earth around 2031.
This unprecedented effort will involve multiple launches and spacecraft — and cost more than $8 billion.

Good Weather Is Forecast for Launch

“We don’t know if life existed there or not. But we do know that Mars at one point in its history was habitable,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on the eve of launch.
The U.S. remains the only country to land successfully at Mars. If all goes well next February, Perseverance will become the ninth U.S. spacecraft to operate on the Martian surface.
First things first, though: Good flying weather is forecast for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The Denver-based rocket maker and its heritage companies have launched all of NASA’s Mars missions, beginning with the Mariners in 1964.
ULA chief executive Tory Bruno said Perseverance is arguably the most sophisticated and most exciting of all the Mars missions.
“We are literally chomping at the bit to take this nuclear-powered dune buggy out to Mars,” he said earlier this week.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

DON'T MISS

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

DON'T MISS

Trump Just Bet the Farm

DON'T MISS

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

DON'T MISS

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

DON'T MISS

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

DON'T MISS

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

DON'T MISS

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

DON'T MISS

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Flores Homers, Matos and Wade Also Go Deep to Help Giants Cap Sweep of Astros

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

Trump Just Bet the Farm

1 hour ago

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

1 hour ago

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

2 hours ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

2 hours ago

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

2 hours ago

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

2 hours ago

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

2 hours ago

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

2 hours ago

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

3 hours ago

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for anothe...

3 minutes ago

3 minutes ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

Kenneth Bratton, 43, was arrested after allegedly firing at Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies during an eviction attempt in Porterville. (Tulare County SO)
49 minutes ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

59 minutes ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

1 hour ago

Trump Just Bet the Farm

1 hour ago

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

2 hours ago

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

2 hours ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

The Fresno Police Department will conduct an enforcement operation on April 7, 2025, to target drivers violating the hands-free cell phone law, aiming to reduce distracted driving. (Shutterstock)
2 hours ago

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend