NASA -PRESEVERANCE- MARS

 

LOS ANGELES : NASA's Mars rover Perseverance - the most advanced astrobiology lab ever sent to another world, streaked through the Martian atmosphere on Thursday and landed safely inside a vast crater, - the first stop on  a search for traces ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL] near Los Angeles burst into applause , cheers and fist bumps as radio beacons signaled that the rover had survived its perilous descent and arrived as planned on the floor of Jezero Crater, site of long vanished Martian lake bed.

''The six-wheeled vehicle came to rest about 2 kilometers from towering cliffs at the foot of remnant fan-shaped river delta etched into a corner of the crater billions of years ago and considered a prime spot for geo-biological study on Mars.

''Touchdown confirmed'' Swati Mohan, the lead guidance and operations specialist announced from the control room.

''Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars.'' [Reuters]