CHADRON – NASA is hold a live webcast today at 2:00 PM MT about its next mission to Mars, and a link to the webcast is available from the Chadron Public Library’s Facebook page.
The Perserverance Rover, nearly identical to the earlier Curiosity Rover, is scheduled to launch next month on the 22nd and to land on Mars at Jezero Crater next February. Today’s webcast offers a virtual exploration of the landing site.
Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History, will lead the webcast exploration using OpenSpace NASA-supported software that allows attendees to interact with scientists and ask question using the chat feature.
Perseverance will carry 23 cameras, 2 microphones, the mini-helicopter Ingenuity, and 7 scientific instruments to study the Martian surface at Jezero Crater.
It’s targeted landing spot is at the foot of an ancient river delta that experts say indicates the area was a lake during the time period when microbial life was thriving on Earth.