Space lovers rejoice as new age in Mars exploration begins

“Touchdown confirmed!” Cheers erupted at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory after the Perseverance rover landed safely on the surface of Mars yesterday. Not only was this a truly incredible feat of engineering, it is beyond exciting – especially for a space nerd like me – that NASA is once again on the hunt for signs of life outside Earth.

New technology aboard Perseverance will give us the most detailed, on-the-ground data from another planet to date. And not only hard data, but 3D photos too. As the images from the rover’s Mastcam-Z stream in, the magic and wonder of this alien world will take on tangible, emotional meaning.

Arizona State University’s Jim Bell, the lead scientist in charge of the fancy camera, describes all the new tech Perseverance brought to Mars and what role it plays in NASA’s most ambitious plan yet to find extraterrestrial life.

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A correction to the newsletter we sent Saturday following the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump: The vote was 57 to 43 to convict Trump, not to acquit him as the editor’s note said. That vote, short of the two-thirds needed to convict, resulted in his acquittal.