This illustration shows the time after takeoff of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft begins the first part of its journey to Mars atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
There are many ways to participate in the historic event, which is scheduled for July 30.
POT Invites the public to participate in virtual activities and events ahead of the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance scout vehicle, aimed at 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 a.m. PDT) on Thursday, July 30, at the United Launch Alliance Rocket Atlas V at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Live coverage and countdown comments will begin at 7 am EDT (4 am PDT) on NASA television and the agency’s website, as well as on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion and Theta.TV. As part of the broadcast, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Gregory Porter will perform a special version of “America the Beautiful.”
Perseverance is NASA’s latest Red Planet explorer vehicle, designed to search for astrobiological evidence of ancient microbial life in Mars. After a seven-month journey, it will land in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. There, Perseverance will collect rock and soil samples for the future return to Earth. It will also characterize the planet’s climate and geology and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. The robotic scientist, who weighs just under 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms), will also lead the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a technology demonstration marking the first attempt at powered and controlled flight on another planet.
Members of the public can attend the launch virtually, receiving mission updates and opportunities that guests typically receive on the site. NASA’s virtual launch experience for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover includes: a behind-the-scenes look at the mission; augmented reality filters; access to an attractive NASA social community; an invitation to send videos to be part of the launch television broadcast; student tool kits; the opportunity to take a souvenir photo on our Mars Photo Booth; and the opportunity to send your name to Mars!
“More than 112,000 people registered to be our virtual guests for NASA SpaceX Launch of the Demo-2 test flight in May, which was the first time the agency offered this type of launch experience to the public, “said Bettina Inclán, associate communications manager for NASA.” For our launch of the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance, we hope that even more people will join us while #CountdownToMars! “
To participate, members of the public can sign up to stay updated on mission information, mission highlights, and opportunities for interaction. For more information, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/beourguest
Members of the public can also share the journey through a variety of activities, including:
Virtual NASA Social
NASA will host a global “NASA Social”, an opportunity for social media users to get a behind-the-scenes look at the launch of Perseverance. NASA Social will take place virtually through a public Facebook group, so people of all ages from around the world can request permission to join us for a behind-the-scenes vision of the mission. Registration is open on Facebook. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Live opportunities will begin one day before the launch date. Find out more at:
https://www.nasa.gov/social/countdowntomars
Send your name to Mars again!
When Perseverance launches to Mars, it will carry three chips the size of a dime with 10.9 million names submitted by people around the world. Those who have already submitted their names can get a special “Now Boarding” stamp on their boarding passes and anyone can sign up to send their name on a future mission to Mars at:
https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020
#CountdownToMars
Be part of the countdown to record a launch countdown video clip and tag it on social media using #CountdownToMars. The selected clips will be shown on NASA social media or even launch day during NASA’s launch coverage. Find out more at:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/countdown-to-mars/
Virtual launch package
This interactive brochure is packed with information on the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and all printed products for the mission. Browse the interactive package or download a PDF version.
Mars photo booth
While sharing the launch of Mars with friends and family, take a souvenir photo with NASA’s Virtual Mars Photo Booth. You can pose next to the powerful Atlas V rocket that will launch the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, pose on the red planet, or stand next to the rover in the clean room of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where the rover was assembled Just upload your favorite image, choose a background and download the new image:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/photo-booth/
Augmented reality filters
Practically join our #CountdownToMars with our new augmented reality filters on Facebook and Instagram. Take a virtual trip to Mars with the Put Yourself on Mars immersive filter, perform the official countdown to launch as a flight director with the Mission Control filter or take the mission to any environment with the Mars Rover 3D filter.
Mars: https: //www.instagram.com/ar/270228570705016/
Mission Control: https: //www.instagram.com/ar/694585304450501/
3D Rover: https: //www.instagram.com/ar/304928364011381/
Get a front row seat
Get a free front row seat to the #CountdownToMars launch stream with Oculus VR technology on Facebook.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/event/661301651125913/
3D Rover spaceship experience
Explore the intricate features of Perseverance with this interactive 3D feature that lets you zoom, rotate, and mouse over your phone to learn about its various components:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/
Activities and lessons for students
Launch rockets, build robots, and explore worlds beyond ours! This collection of projects, tools and contests will take you into space without leaving Earth:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/tag/search/Mars
Additionally, a variety of Mars-themed lessons are available at JPLThe education website:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/tag/search/Mars
Mars 2020 STEM Toolkit
Bring the exciting engineering and science of this mission to students in the classroom and at home with STEM lessons and DIY projects covering topics such as biology, geology, physics, mathematics, engineering, coding, and language arts.
https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/moon_to_mars/mars2020stemtoolkit
Ask the experts anything
Experts from NASA, United Launch Alliance (ULA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and more will answer public questions about the mission in a Reddit Ask Me Anything on Monday, July 27 at 4:30 pm EDT (1:30 pm). PDT). For updates, visit regularly:
https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience
Watch and participate in social networks
Stay connected to the mission on social media and let people know you are following it on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #CountdownToMars. Follow and tag these accounts:
Twitter: @NASA, @NASAPersevere, @NASAMars
Facebook: NASA, NASAPersevere, NASAMars
Instagram: NASA
NASA television coverage
In addition to social media coverage, NASA television will broadcast a series of pre-launch, post-launch and post-launch events. Launch coverage begins at 7 am EDT (4 am PDT) on Thursday, July 30.
The following events are currently scheduled to air live (all east). Check NASA’s television schedule for the latest updates:
Wednesday July 22
3 pm – NASA Science Live: Perseverance Mars Rover & the Search for Ancient Life
Monday July 27
1 pm – Mars 2020 pre-launch news conference
3 pm – Mars Science / Engineering Report 2020
Tuesday, July 28
2 pm – Mars Return Sample Report from Mars 2020
4 pm – Mars 2020 Mission Tech and Humans to Mars Briefing
Thursday, July 30
7 am – Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch Broadcast
11:30 am – Mars 2020 Perseverance post-launch press conference
Mars 2020 Perseverance is part of America’s largest Moon-to-Mars exploration approach that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Accused of sending the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis program.
