The US space agency NASA on July 30, 2020 launched the Perseverance robot on a mission to try to detect life on Mars.
Salient Features
Perseverance was launched on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Perseverance is the third mission despatched to Mars inside 11 days, after launches by the UAE (Hope) and China (Tianwen 1).
The Perseverance rover’s astrobiology mission is to seek out signs of past microscopic life on Mars, explore the diverse geology of its landing site, Jezero Crater, and demonstrate key technologies that will help us prepare for future robotic and human exploration.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of America’s larger Moon to Mars exploration approach that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Charged with sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis program.
(Source: NASA)
CLICK HERE FOR UPSC, BPSC, UPPCS, JPSC, MPPSC, RPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ
CLICK HERE FOR UPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ
