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17 Feb, 27 tweets, 11 min read
By now, you've likely heard of this rover's mission, seen the hashtag #CountdownToMars, and may even be planning to pick up a red donut in its honor. Follow along as we chronicle the @NASAPersevere mission—and humanity's obsession with Mars—in the days ahead
Rover Name: Perseverance

Purpose: Collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth

Expected Landing: Feb. 18, 2021

Landing Site: Jezero Crater, Mars

Mission Duration: At least one Mars year (about 687 Earth days)
Scientists and engineers, working through the COVID-19 crisis on Earth, have prepared it for tasks ranging from trying to generate oxygen on Mars to searching for evidence of past life on.natgeo.com/3qu3Z92
Jezero Crater is filled with boulders and cliffs that could spell doom for an unprepared rover
Maps are a crucial part of the rover’s entry, descent, and landing sequence—a dramatic, complicated set of maneuvers that will deposit the one-ton rover in Jezero Crater on.natgeo.com/37nZl52
As Perseverance parachutes through the thin Martian atmosphere, it will snap images from five different altitudes and compare what it sees with the onboard maps
At 3:55 p.m. ET today, the 2,260-pound rover—the heaviest object ever sent to the surface of another planet—should set its wheels in the ruddy dirt of Jezero Crater on.natgeo.com/3beSGLH
You can easily spot Mars in the evening sky anytime for the next few months—and in an amazing coincidence, Earth’s moon will appear right next to the red planet tonight on.natgeo.com/3pBe56O
More on those "7 minutes of terror" in our latest newsletter by @vmjaggard99 email.nationalgeographic.com/H/2/v600000177…

Donut update 🚨
Percy knows how to make an entrance
@NASA @NASAPersevere #Mars2020
For the first time in history, people will hear what it sounds like on another planet. “The microphone will be sitting there on the surface of Mars, attached to the rover, listening to the ambient noises,” David Gruel
Here's how to watch @NASA's live landing coverage on Twitter!
Why is humanity so obsessed with Mars anyway? More in our March issue: on.natgeo.com/3qx8obi

It's go time! @NASAPersevere is about to encounter the Martian atmosphere! We won't know how it all goes for another ~20min.
"We have indication that cruise stage separation has been confirmed by the spacecraft."

And now we wait. #CountdownToMars

Percy has landed safely! #CountdownToMars
Now, the real mission begins on.natgeo.com/3pAaCFD

#CountdownToMars #Perseverance
After a harrowing plunge through the thin Martian atmosphere, Percy can begin its landmark hunt for signs of ancient life
Perseverance isn't just in the name
Over the coming weeks, as the data are downloaded and processed, NASA will release the sights and sounds of a rover plunging to an alien surface on.natgeo.com/3pAaCFD

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