The Perseverance rover is now on its way to Mars. It launched on July 30, 2020, at 4:50 a.m. PDT (7:50 a.m. EDT).
Perseverance launched on an Atlas V-541 rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Atlas V is one of the largest rockets available for interplanetary flight. This is the same type of rocket that launched the InSight and Curiosity to Mars.
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover will land at Jezero Crater in about seven months, on Feb. 18, 2021, joining the other missions already present. To achieve its scientific program on the Red planet, the car-sized rover is full of instruments, including the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.