Watch live: NASA launches Mars Perseverance rover to the Red Planet

[Judi Lynn]

By Jeanna Bryner - Live Science Editor-in-Chief a day ago

The Mars 2020 mission is scheduled to launch its Perseverance rover toward the Red Planet on Thursday, July 30. The launch window will open from 7:50 a.m. EDT on July 30 and close on Aug. 15, 2020.

The spacecraft will launch on a Atlas V-541 rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. If all goes according to plan, the Perseverance rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, at around 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST, or 8 p.m. UTC).

https://www.livescience.com/watch-live-mars-perseverance-launch-webcast.html?utm_source=notification

[FM123]

1. Wow!

Thanks so much, lift-off was just the beautiful thing I needed to start my day!

[Judi Lynn]

2. Glad you saw it! Hope the whole trip will be as wonderful as they intend. Thank you. n/t

[krispos42]

3. It's up! Now my fingernails have until February 18th to recover before the OTHER scary part happens

The whole "landing on Mars" part.

[Jim__]

4. Mars-bound spaceship experiencing technical issues: NASA

It looks like it's actually OK.

From phys.org:

Mars 2020, the spaceship carrying NASA's new rover Perseverance to the Red Planet, is experiencing technical difficulties and is running on essential systems only, the agency said Thursday.

"Data indicate the spacecraft had entered a state known as safe mode, likely because a part of the spacecraft was a little colder than expected while Mars 2020 was in Earth's shadow," NASA said.

The spaceship has left Earth's shadow and the temperatures are now normal.

When a vessel enters safe mode, it shuts down all but essential systems until it receives new commands from mission control. "Right now, the Mars 2020 mission is completing a full health assessment on the spacecraft and is working to return the spacecraft to a nominal configuration for its journey to Mars," added NASA.

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