An hour after NASA’s Perseverance rover nailed an epic landing on Mars, the company’s appearing chief Steve Jurczyk received a shock telephone name from the president of the USA.
“His first phrases have been ‘Congratulations, man,’ and I knew it was him,” Jurczyk mentioned of the decision from President Joe Biden at the moment (Feb. 18). “He talked about how proud he was of what we had completed.”
Jurczyk was at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California — residence to Perseverance’s mission operations middle — when he received the decision from Biden. The rover’s profitable touchdown within the huge Jezero Crater was introduced at 3:55 p.m. EST (2055 GMT) after a harrowing skycrane landing.
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Congratulations to NASA and everybody whose laborious work made Perseverance’s historic touchdown attainable. As we speak proved as soon as once more that with the facility of science and American ingenuity, nothing is past the realm of risk. pic.twitter.com/NzSxW6nw4kFebruary 18, 2021
Biden, Jurczyk mentioned, requested the appearing NASA chief to “ship his regards to Percy.” He hopes to congratulate the complete mission workforce in particular person quickly, probably subsequent week, Jurczyk added. However Biden did not wait lengthy to let the world know the way he felt.
“Congratulations to NASA and everybody whose laborious work made Perseverance’s historic touchdown attainable,” Biden wrote in a Twitter statement about two hours after touchdown, which included a photograph exhibiting Biden watching the touchdown on tv on the White Home. “As we speak proved as soon as once more that with the facility of science and American ingenuity, nothing is past the realm of risk.”
Vice President Kamala Harris additionally despatched her congratulations to NASA and the Perseverance rover workforce.
“Congrats to @NASA and all of their companions on their profitable mission,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “As we speak’s historic touchdown embodies our nation’s spirit of perseverance — constructing on previous accomplishments and paving the way in which for future missions.”
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Congrats to @NASA and all of their companions on their profitable mission. As we speak’s historic touchdown embodies our nation’s spirit of perseverance—constructing on previous accomplishments and paving the way in which for future missions.February 18, 2021
Former President Barack Obama echoed Biden’s sentiments in his personal assertion. NASA kicked off the Perseverance rover mission, then identified solely as Mars 2020, in 2012 throughout Obama’s first presidential time period.
“Congrats to @NASAJPL on touchdown @MarsPersevere at the moment!” Obama wrote on Twitter. “Wanting ahead to seeing what this mission uncovers — and proud our administration invested on this effort eight years in the past to assist proceed America’s wealthy custom of exploration and discovery.”
By all accounts, Perseverance is doing nicely on Mars.
The rover touched down on a flat spot inside Jezero Crater, a 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) area on the western fringe of an enormous impression basin referred to as Isidis Planitia a bit north of Mars’ equator. Whereas Perseverance has beamed its first Mars photographs to Earth, the black-and-white navigation digital camera pictures will quickly be eclipsed by extra highly effective (and colour) cameras within the days forward.
Congrats to @NASAJPL on touchdown @MarsPersevere at the moment! Wanting ahead to seeing what this mission uncovers—and proud our administration invested on this effort eight years in the past to assist proceed America’s wealthy custom of exploration and discovery.February 18, 2021
Over the following few days, the nuclear-powered rover is predicted to lift its digital camera mast, unfold its robotic arm and start a shakedown interval to make sure all of its methods are working as deliberate.
The 1-ton rover is designed to spend years exploring Jezero Crater — which was an enormous lake billions of years in the past — to seek for indicators of historic life and, in a primary, gather samples of Mars that will probably be returned to Earth on a later mission. The rover can be carrying Ingenuity, the first helicopter ever sent to another world, and an experiment referred to as MOXIE that can try and make oxygen from the Martian ambiance.
Jurczyk mentioned Perseverance’s landing marked NASA’s ninth profitable touchdown on the Crimson Planet, an unprecedented quantity for any nation. The landing also occurred during a global pandemic that prevented a lot of the Perseverance mission workforce from working collectively in particular person during the last yr.
“I couldn’t be extra pleased with the workforce and what they’ve completed, what they’ve completed, beneath difficult circumstances,” Jurczyk mentioned.
E mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@house.com or comply with him @tariqjmalik. Comply with us @Spacedotcom, Fb and Instagram.