NASA has launched its new Mars rover, Perseverance, on a six-month journey to the Red Planet, Wired reported.
According to the mission plan, the rover should land on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021. The total cost of the mission is estimated at $ 2.1-2.7 billion.
Perseverance will look for signs of microbiological life forms in the past of Mars. It will collect soil samples, and will also study the climate and weather on the planet.
Besides, the rover will deliver to Mars samples of materials from which it is supposed to make spacesuits for landing people on the surface of the Moon and, in the future, Mars. Engineers will test how the samples will be affected by the Martian environment.
