Thread by @JeniMillard

So what's new this time?
- 23 cameras, including zoom AND we can make 3D images
- We're directly searching for signs of past microbial life
- New, stronger wheels (with JPL spelled out in morse code in the hole pattern!)
- Caching
- Experiments for human survival on Mars (1/n)

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1286111799054684160

The journey to Mars takes about 7 months, we're looking at a mid-Feb 2021 landing.

It'll be the first time we get to see the sky crane in action, because there's now a camera attached! Although there will be a time delay, we'll actually see Perseverance land! (2/n)

Perseverance has an astonishing 23 cameras, to assist with rover operations and for mineralogy (figuring out what the surrounding rocks and area are made of). There is also a weather monitoring system on board (temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, humidity), (3/n)

and instruments to examine the Martian dust. We'll be able to study surface composition using spectrometers, and use ground penetrating radar to peer beneath the surface.

Excitingly, there are also microphones - we're hoping for the first audio from Mars! (4/n)

Perseverance will land at the 28 mile wide Jezero crater, just north of the Martian equator. We believe a river delta once flooded the crater with water, turning it into a lake. The crater is filled with clay, and on Earth, such clay is embedded with microbial life (5/n)

For the first time, Perseverance will be creating caches, little stores of interesting Martian samples drilled from rocks or beneath the ground. The hope is that one day, these will be returned to Earth to be studied in labs with more sophisticated instruments (6/n)

There are many experiments on board related to human survival on Mars. One is to test if we can produce oxygen from the thin, 96% CO2 atmosphere of Mars. This is critical not only to breathe, but we need 27 metric tons of oxygen to burn fuel to return to Earth! (7/n)

It would take many trips to just get that amount of oxygen to Mars, so producing oxygen on the surface is key. The rover will also be looking for resources like subsurface water, and will be looking for any dangerous dust or environmental effects that could harm humans (8/n)

We're also testing samples of spacesuit material and helmets to see how they cope in the Martian environment.

Most excitingly for this mission, we have Ingenuity - the first attempt at powered flight beyond Earth! (9/n)

Ingenuity is a high-risk high-gain experiment. We don't know if it will work. But if it does, it's a game changer.

This time, Ingenuity is just a technology demonstration. We hope to fly it at least once, but up to 5 times, just to see if we can. (10/n)

If we can, then this will allow for more autonomy in Mars exploration. The helicopter would act as a scout, flying ahead of the rover, seeking out hazards and points of interest, then feeding this information back to the rover. The rover than then autonomously adjust... (11/n)

... its course. Such a development avoids the long time delay in sending signals between Earth and Mars. It will allow us to explore further and quicker, and also explore areas that rovers can't, like water ice and even brine. (12/n)

Perseverance represents a paradigm shift. No longer are we trying to figure out if Mars was once habitable, we're pretty confident it was billion of years ago.

Now, we're directly searching for signs of ancient life.

Martians, we're coming for you! (13/13)

AMENDMENT: no morse code on the wheels for Perseverance, apologies for the incorrect statement. I blame my exhausted brain from frantic packing and unpacking.