An hour after NASA’s Perseverance rover nailed an epic landing on Mars, the company’s appearing chief Steve Jurczyk acquired a shock telephone name from the president of the United States.
“His first words were ‘Congratulations, man,’ and I knew it was him,” Jurczyk stated of the decision from President Joe Biden as we speak (Feb. 18). “He talked about how proud he was of what we had accomplished.”
Jurczyk was at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California — residence to Perseverance’s mission operations heart — when he acquired the decision from Biden. The rover’s profitable touchdown within the huge Jezero Crater was introduced at 3:55 p.m. EST (2055 GMT) after a harrowing skycrane landing.
Related: Here’s the 1st photo from NASA’s Perseverance rover!
Live updates: NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover mission
Congratulations to NASA and everybody whose exhausting work made Perseverance’s historic touchdown potential. Today proved as soon as once more that with the facility of science and American ingenuity, nothing is past the realm of risk. pic.twitter.com/NzSxW6nw4kFebruary 18, 2021
Biden, Jurczyk stated, requested the appearing NASA chief to “send his regards to Percy.” He hopes to congratulate all the mission staff in individual quickly, probably subsequent week, Jurczyk added. But Biden did not wait lengthy to let the world know the way he felt.
“Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance’s historic landing possible,” Biden wrote in a Twitter statement about two hours after touchdown, which included a photograph exhibiting Biden watching the touchdown on tv on the White House. “Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility.”
Vice President Kamala Harris additionally despatched her congratulations to NASA and the Perseverance rover staff.
“Congrats to @NASA and all of their partners on their successful mission,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “Today’s historic landing embodies our nation’s spirit of perseverance — building on past accomplishments and paving the way for future missions.”
Presidential visions for space exploration: From Ike to Biden
Congrats to @NASA and all of their companions on their profitable mission. Today’s historic touchdown embodies our nation’s spirit of perseverance—constructing on previous accomplishments and paving the best way for future missions.February 18, 2021
Former President Barack Obama echoed Biden’s sentiments in his personal assertion. NASA kicked off the Perseverance rover mission, then identified solely as Mars 2020, in 2012 throughout Obama’s first presidential time period.
“Congrats to @NASAJPL on landing @MarsPersevere today!” Obama wrote on Twitter. “Looking forward to seeing what this mission uncovers — and proud our administration invested in this effort eight years ago to help continue America’s rich tradition of exploration and discovery.”
By all accounts, Perseverance is doing nicely on Mars.
The rover touched down on a flat spot inside Jezero Crater, a 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) area on the western fringe of an enormous influence basin known as Isidis Planitia a bit north of Mars’ equator. While Perseverance has beamed its first Mars pictures to Earth, the black-and-white navigation digital camera photographs will quickly be eclipsed by extra highly effective (and shade) cameras within the days forward.
Congrats to @NASAJPL on touchdown @MarsPersevere as we speak! Looking ahead to seeing what this mission uncovers—and proud our administration invested on this effort eight years in the past to assist proceed America’s wealthy custom of exploration and discovery.February 18, 2021
Over the following few days, the nuclear-powered rover is anticipated to boost its digital camera mast, unfold its robotic arm and start a shakedown interval to make sure all of its programs are working as deliberate.
The 1-ton rover is designed to spend years exploring Jezero Crater — which was an enormous lake billions of years in the past — to seek for indicators of historical life and, in a primary, acquire samples of Mars that will probably be returned to Earth on a later mission. The rover can also be carrying Ingenuity, the first helicopter ever sent to another world, and an experiment known as MOXIE that can try to make oxygen from the Martian environment.
Jurczyk stated Perseverance’s landing marked NASA’s ninth profitable touchdown on the Red Planet, an unprecedented quantity for any nation. The landing also occurred during a global pandemic that prevented a lot of the Perseverance mission staff from working collectively in individual over the past yr.
“I could not be more proud of the team and what they’ve done, what they’ve accomplished, under challenging circumstances,” Jurczyk stated.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or observe him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
