NASAs latest Mars rover launched into space last summer, and afternearly seven months of space travelits now on its final descent to the Red Planet.
The Mars 2020Perseverancerover will land on Mars on Thursday, Feb. 18, and you’re able to watch the whole thing live.
Heres how.
How to watch the Mars rover landing
The Mars Perseverance rover is expected to touch down around 3:55 pm ET on Thursday, and you might find the official live coverage of the event starting at 2:15 pm ET onNASA TVand NASAswebsite.
The agency will also host a live stream onYouTube(plusa Spanish-language feed), and you’re free to find additional coverage and commentary on all of its social media accounts:
Twitch
Finally, you’re free to tune intoa 360-degree live stream of mission controlvia the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory YouTube channel or themission control audio feedon JPLraw.
Social media event
NASA is also hosting its#CountdowntoMars Landing eventon Facebook, where you’ve got the option to watch the coverage, connect with other rover enthusiasts and participate in a Q&A with NASA team members.
What to expect with the landing
Perseverance is expected to take about seven minutes for its self-guided descent from the top of Mars atmosphere to its landing spot in the Jezero Craterbut it takes just over 11 minutes for the signal from the rover to reach mission control on Earth.
That means that by the time we know that Perseverance is on its way down, it will (hopefully) have already landed safely on Mars.
NASA will receive one radio signal when the descent begins and expects to receive another indicating landingjust before 4 pm ET.
