Mars 2020 Lifts off for The Red Planet - Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion July 30, 2020

Mars 2020 lifted off from cape Canaveral early on July 30. Here's a look at the spacecraft, the mission, and the instruments headed to the Red Planet.

Mars 2020 Lifts off to the Red Planet

The Mars 2020 mission lifted off to Mars on July 30, bringing the Perseverance rover and a helicopter to the Red Planet.

By James Maynard

The Mars 2020 mission lifts off to the Red Planet. Image credit: NASA/KSC

Mars 2020 — NASA’s latest mission to Mars — lifted off from Cape Canaveral on July 30, on its way to explore the most Earth-like world in the Solar System.

At 7:50 am EDT (4:50 am PDT) on July 30, a pair of mighty RD AMROSS RD-180 engines ignited, together with four solid rocket boosters, lifting a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on its way to Mars.

“This amazing explorer’s journey has already required the very best from all of us to get it to launch through these challenging times. Now we can look forward to its incredible science and to bringing samples of Mars home even as we advance human missions to the Red Planet. As a mission, as an agency, and as a country, we will persevere,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/mars-2020