Six months ago, NASA launched Perseverance, a rover, to Mars. After traveling nearly 300 million miles, Perseverance successfully landed on Mars! NASA scientists are overjoyed and proud of this achievement. People all over the world are cheering for the success of this event. But what does this mean for us? Why is sending a rover to Mars so important?
Why Mars?
For years, scientists have wondered whether there are signs of life on Mars. Having rovers on the planet allows them to determine just that. Perseverance was launched to study past forms of life and collect samples of nature there, such as rocks and soil so that scientists can further investigate the idea of living things being able to survive on Mars. Currently, we have five rovers on Mars: Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. Each rover works to identify signs of life on the planet and pave the way for future missions, with humans. For example, one of the most essential necessities for life is water. The rovers on Mars have the ability to trace areas on the planet where there may have been water in the past. This will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of what is available and what life would be like on Mars.
A Foreseeable Future
What does the landing of Perseverance mean for us as humans? None of the rovers that have been launched so far were accompanied by people. Up until this point, no human has landed on Mars. With the rovers scanning the area and providing researchers with information, scientists have been able to set a potential time in which they believe they will be able to send a person to Mars. If something like this goes through, it would be an incredible accomplishment for humanity! Such discoveries on Mars can change everything for us, and life as we know it could drastically change.