NASA postponed the schedule for launching robots to Mars

NASA announced the Perseverance robot will begin the journey to the red planet three days late to fix a problem .

The Perseverance robot is responsible for finding traces of life on Mars. (Photo: NASA).

The Atlas V rocket will carry the Perseverance robot leaving the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on July 20 instead of July 17 as previously planned. NASA said the team needed more time to repair a device of the grounding system and the delay was not related to Covid-19, a pandemic that caused NASA to switch to remote working mode. mid March.

Although the launch schedule has been delayed, Perseverance still has plenty of time because the ideal phase to fly to Mars lasts until 11/8. However, this will be the deadline for this robot. The position and distance between Earth and Mars are not fixed. Therefore, the most ideal phase to fly from Earth to Mars is only repeated after 26 months.

Perseverance is expected to land in a 45 km wide Jezero basin on February 18, 2021. This robot is responsible for finding traces of life on Mars, collecting specimens and conducting other research. It will also carry Ingenuity , a small automated helicopter. Ingenuity helps researchers assess the potential of flying vehicles to explore Mars.

Perseverance will work with Curiosity, another NASA robot that has landed on the red planet since 2012. Not only does it launch robots on Mars, NASA also has a long-term goal of bringing people ships to the planet in years. 2030.