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Touch down! NASA’s Mars landing sparks new era of exploration

Having stuck its nail-biting landing, the Perseverance rover will now collect rocks to return to Earth and record Mars sounds for the first time.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down safely in Jezero Crater on Mars on 18 February, kicking off a new era of exploration on the red planet in which rocks will be collected and returned to Earth for the first time.

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Nature 590, 535-537 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00432-1

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 19 February 2021: This story was updated to include new details of where the rover landed in Jezero Crater and commentary about its touch down.

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