"Perseverance is aiming for an ancient river delta that seems a logical spot for once harboring life. This landing zone in Jezero Crater is so treacherous that NASA nixed it for Curiosity, but so tantalizing that scientists are keen to get hold of its rocks.
"When the scientists take a look at a site like Jezero Crater, they see the promise, right?" said Al Chen, who's in charge of the entry, descent and landing team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "When I look at Jezero, I see danger. There's danger everywhere."
Steep cliffs, deep pits and fields of rocks could cripple or doom Perseverance, following its seven-minute atmospheric plunge. With an 11 1/2-minute communication lag each way, the rover will be on its own, unable to rely on flight controllers. Amal and Tianwen-1 will also need to operate autonomously while maneuvering into orbit." phys.org
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The Perseverance landing attempt is scheduled for 18 February. pl
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mars-spacecraft-quick-succession.html
Jezero is a minefield of boulders, rock fields, craters, ridges. Fingers crossed that the software and tech are smarter than the terrain is hazardous.
Hace hoy 60 años, la Unión Soviética lanzaba desde Baikonur la primera misión humana interplanetaria: la nave Venera-1 con destino a Venus. Justo tres meses después, el 12 de mayo de 1961, alcanza con éxito la órbita venusiana.
Inserción orbital de la sonda china a Marte Tianwen-1 grabada desde la propia nave. La vibración que se observa es debida al motor principal (ignición de frenado).
https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1360149027342458881
Aquí, la Tianwen-1, pasando Marte, mientras entra en órbita…
https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1360147974282743809