Danielle Sempsrott – Perseverance Mars Rover

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Ready for its Ride to Mars

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) payload fairing with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover secured inside is positioned on top of the ULA Atlas V rocket inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 7, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is now attached to the rocket that will carry it on its seven-month journey to the Red Planet for the agency’s Mars 2020 mission.

On Tuesday, July 7, a team of engineers fastened the payload fairing, containing the rover and remainder of the spacecraft – the aeroshell backshell, descent stage and cruise stage – to a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. The rocket’s upper stage and spacecraft will remain attached until about 55 minutes after launch, after which the two will separate, sending Perseverance on its solo journey to Mars.

With the spacecraft and booster now connected, final testing of the two – separately and together as one unit – can begin. Once those tests are complete, the rocket will leave the VIF on the morning of July 28 for its journey to the launch pad – just 1,800 feet away.

NASA and United Launch Alliance are now targeting Thurs., July 30, at 7:50 a.m. ET, with a two-hour window, for launch of the Mars 2020 mission. The team identified the cause of the issue with the liquid oxygen sensor line found during Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR). A small leak was located in the weld of the line, which has been repaired and tested.

The rover, carrying seven different scientific instruments, is slated to arrive at the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, regardless of what day it lifts off during the launch period. During its time on Mars, Perseverance will search for signs of past microbial life and collect rock and soil samples of the Martian surface for future return to Earth.

The mission, managed by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), will provide key insight into some of the challenges associated with future human exploration of Mars. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center is managing the launch.

For more information, visit the mission website.

NASA, ULA Targeting NET July 30 for Mars 2020 Launch

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover at Kennedy Space Center — More than 10 million names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance on March 16, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/JPL

Due to launch vehicle processing delays in preparation for spacecraft mate operations, NASA and United Launch Alliance have moved the first launch attempt of the Mars 2020 mission to no earlier than July 30. A liquid oxygen sensor line presented off-nominal data during the Wet Dress Rehearsal, and additional time is needed for the team to inspect and evaluate. Flight analysis teams have expanded the mission launch opportunities to August 15 and are examining if the launch period may be extended further into August.

Gearing Up for Mars 2020 Rover

The Spacecraft Assembly and Rotation Fixture (SCARF) that will be used to process the Mars 2020 rover is photographed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 22, 2019. Attached to the SCARF is an access stand that will allow personnel to reach the spacecraft when it’s held above ground level. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Critical ground support equipment needed to prepare NASA’s Mars 2020 rover for its journey to the Red Planet has arrived at a payload processing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rover is being manufactured at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and, once complete, will be sent to Kennedy for assembly, prelaunch processing and checkouts.

The spin table, one of the crucial hardware elements that will be utilized to process the Mars 2020 rover, is photographed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

One vital element of hardware involved in spacecraft processing will be the Spacecraft Assembly and Rotation Fixture (SCARF) and its access stand, allowing teams to reach the spacecraft when it’s held above ground level. This fixture also is where all of the individual spacecraft elements will be mated together. Once assembly is finalized, the SCARF will rotate the spacecraft 180 degrees for encapsulation into the launch vehicle’s payload fairing, where it will remain for launch.

Developed under NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, the Mars 2020 rover is designed to better understand the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial life. The mission will collect and store a set of rock and soil samples that could be returned to Earth in the future. It also will test new technology to benefit future robotic and human exploration of Mars. About the size of a car and close to the same dimensions as the Curiosity rover, the Mars 2020 rover will carry seven different scientific instruments to conduct studies aimed at benefiting future Mars exploration efforts.

The rover is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, procured by NASA’s Launch Services Program.