Perseverance
The rejoicing would not end when NASA announced on March 5 this year the name of the next Mars rover, Perseverance, which can be translated into persistence or endurance. And again, it was up to school students across the country to bid on proposals this time won by 13-year-old Alexander Mathers of Virgina, USA.
Perseverance, the fifth Mars mission with a rolling robot, recycles experience and the design of its successful predecessor, the 6-wheeled Curiosity, which landed on the Red Planet in 2012 and is still active, sending Mars data and images.
With updates and enhancements to Perseverance, NASA and the world's Martian scientists hope to gain important knowledge about the enigmatic planet that, among many other important tasks, is preparing a manned mission to Mars.
Mission is set to launch in July-August this year, from the legendary Cap Canavaral in Florida, where both Apollo and Space Shuttles were deployed. And all goes well - and of course we hope so, so Perseverance lands on Mars on February 18, 2021.
Morten Remar has spoken (in Danish) to Mars researcher Kjartan Kinch from the Niels Bohr Institute about the mission itself and the participation of Danish researchers.
Follow Science Stories on: iTunes, Spotify, Spreaker, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Here you can see more information: Behind the Spacecraft Perseverance – The Next Mars Rover