NASA’s Perseverance lander is scheduled to touch down on the Martian surface today at approximately 3:53 EST today, February 18th.
This is one of the most complex vehicles, attempting on of the most complex landing sequences, to one of the most geologically complicated regions of the red planet.
The high risks associated with the chosen locale are worth the gamble, as the region is believed to be a dried out lake bed which offers high promise of discovering signs of prior life.
Perseverance is using the same “skycrane” landing sequence as Endurance, which made a successful, if highly tense, landing
Here’s animation from the Curiosity lander’s mission, which utilized the same technique:
You can watch coverage of the landing here and on NASA TV
