NASA Explorer Successfully Lands on Mars
2021-02-19
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1The American space agency's Mars explorer, Perseverance, landed successfully on the Red Planet Thursday after a seven-month trip.
2The six-wheeled explorer, or rover, is on a NASA mission to collect Martian soil and rocks as part of the search for signs of ancient life.
3Ground controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California cheered after receiving confirmation of the landing on Mars.
4It took 11-and-one-half minutes for the confirmation signal to reach Earth.
5Moments later, controllers received the rover's first pictures of Mars.
6Perseverance landed in an area of Mars called Jezero Crater, just north of the planet's equator.
7The area contains a large ancient lakebed.
8NASA considers the area a promising place to find possible signs of microbial life.
9Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, when water flowed on the planet.
10However, rough ground around Jezero Crater presented possible landing dangers for the Perseverance spacecraft.
11Al Chen is a member of JPL's landing team.
12He told reporters that while the area was full of things scientists want to study, it did not offer the most favorable landing conditions.
13The successful landing marked the third recent visit to Mars.
14Last week, spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China entered the planet's orbit.
15All three of the missions launched in July to take advantage of the shorter distance between Earth and Mars at the time.
16This closeness between the planets happens every two years.
17Perseverance is NASA's fifth rover to explore Mars.
18The first, named Sojourner, was sent in 1997.
19Then came Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004.
20The fourth rover, Curiosity, has been exploring the planet since 2012.
21Those missions all resulted in valuable information about the Red Planet.
22NASA says Perseverance "aims to take the next step" in searching for signs of ancient microbial life.
23It is NASA's largest, heaviest and most technology-loaded vehicle ever sent to Mars.
24It has 19 cameras, two microphones and a two-meter-long robotic arm.
25A machine connected to the arm will dig into the ground to gather rock and soil.
26The rover is equipped with X-ray and imaging systems to study Martian chemistry and to identify possible organic compounds.
27Perseverance is also carrying a small experimental flyer called Ingenuity.
28NASA says the 1.8 kilogram vehicle will attempt its first flight in the coming months.
29NASA officials hope it will be the first vehicle to fly on a planet other than Earth.
30I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The American space agency's Mars explorer, Perseverance, landed successfully on the Red Planet Thursday after a seven-month trip. 2The six-wheeled explorer, or rover, is on a NASA mission to collect Martian soil and rocks as part of the search for signs of ancient life. 3Ground controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California cheered after receiving confirmation of the landing on Mars. It took 11-and-one-half minutes for the confirmation signal to reach Earth. 4Moments later, controllers received the rover's first pictures of Mars. 5Perseverance landed in an area of Mars called Jezero Crater, just north of the planet's equator. The area contains a large ancient lakebed. 6NASA considers the area a promising place to find possible signs of microbial life. Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, when water flowed on the planet. 7However, rough ground around Jezero Crater presented possible landing dangers for the Perseverance spacecraft. Al Chen is a member of JPL's landing team. He told reporters that while the area was full of things scientists want to study, it did not offer the most favorable landing conditions. 8The successful landing marked the third recent visit to Mars. Last week, spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China entered the planet's orbit. All three of the missions launched in July to take advantage of the shorter distance between Earth and Mars at the time. This closeness between the planets happens every two years. 9Perseverance is NASA's fifth rover to explore Mars. The first, named Sojourner, was sent in 1997. Then came Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004. The fourth rover, Curiosity, has been exploring the planet since 2012. 10Those missions all resulted in valuable information about the Red Planet. NASA says Perseverance "aims to take the next step" in searching for signs of ancient microbial life. 11It is NASA's largest, heaviest and most technology-loaded vehicle ever sent to Mars. It has 19 cameras, two microphones and a two-meter-long robotic arm. A machine connected to the arm will dig into the ground to gather rock and soil. 12The rover is equipped with X-ray and imaging systems to study Martian chemistry and to identify possible organic compounds. 13Perseverance is also carrying a small experimental flyer called Ingenuity. NASA says the 1.8 kilogram vehicle will attempt its first flight in the coming months. NASA officials hope it will be the first vehicle to fly on a planet other than Earth. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Bryan Lynn wrote this story for Learning English, based on reports from NASA, The Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17_________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19mission - n. the flight of a spacecraft to perform a task or job 20microbial - adj. relating to microbes (very small living things) 21advantage - n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed 22organic - adj. chemical that contain carbon