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Perseverance's ‘sky crane' captures Mars descent

Shot provides unprecedented look at rover’s landing

Seen from above, the moment before Mars Perseverance Rover touched down
NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Sometimes it pays to bring your own photographer. Cameras mounted on the sky crane that ferried Perseverance to the surface of Mars yesterday captured the rover's descent, NASA reports today. The picture, above, shows the rover threading the needle to land in a rocky region, 2 kilometers south of an ancient delta in the Red Planet's Jezero crater—a site found with its autonomous navigation system. The rover is perhaps 2 meters from the surface, dust kicked up by its engines. More shots of Perseverance's surroundings, including video, are expected to be released this weekend or early next week, uploaded at the mission's imagery website.


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