FACTS
NASA landed its fifth and most advanced rover, The Perseverance or “Percy” for short, on the planet of Mars last Thursday. The 290 million mile journey from the earth “went pretty much according to plan,” stated NASA’s Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk. The mission, which is expected to be 687 days, is to explore the planet, where it is believed water was once present, and many say life could have existed.
RESPONSE
In classic CNN form, producer Harmeet Kaur noted the progressive nature of the mission, writing, “The Perseverance rover mission was diverse by a number of measures: race, gender and sexuality.” Kaur stated that the engineers and team involved are a “sign of the progress NASA has made since it was founded in 1958.” President Joe Biden congratulated the crew, tweeting, “Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility.” Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, who has talked about colonizing Mars, also congratulated NASA for the achievement.
“Going to Mars and beyond could be the same sort of eye-opening experience for humanity as a species. Becoming multiplanetary doesn’t have to be about having a backup plan, it could be about evolving and becoming better, wiser and a little less ignorant about the universe and our place in it.”
Erick Mack, Contributing Editor at CNET
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) stated, “This was one of those days to pull the country together and inspire another generation of American scientists.” A tweet by Eric Berger, Space Editor at Ars Technicha, read, “Well, I have to say, @NASA has flat out delivered so far with Mars Perseverance. None of this is easy. All of it is hard. And the results so far are dazzling. Thank you.”
NASA Perseverance footage!
— Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) February 22, 2021
The first-ever time there’s been video footage of a spacecraft landing on Mars!
Part 1: pic.twitter.com/u6cpnBHsVO
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