NASA, AIAA Host Discussion on Mars Perseverance Rover Technology

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Feb 03, 2021, 18:06 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and NASA will host a moderated webinar to discuss technology innovations with NASA's Mars Perseverance rover during a virtual event at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 10. The event will livestream on NASA's website and on YouTube through AIAA's event landing page.

Perseverance is scheduled to land on Mars Thursday, Feb. 18, and is the largest and most sophisticated rover ever sent to the Red Planet's surface. The robotic astrobiologist carries an array of cutting-edge technologies that will enable the most precise landing ever and help pave the way for future human missions to Mars.

At the landing site of Jezero Crater, Perseverance will seek signs of ancient life and demonstrate technologies for making oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, provide surface weather updates, and demonstrate the first controlled, powered flight on another planet with the Ingenuity helicopter.

During the webinar, NASA science, technology, and engineering experts involved with the mission will share more about how technology developments have enabled a return to Mars and will advance exploration of it in the future with both robots and astronauts.

Participating in the webinar are:

Tory Bruno, CEO, United Launch Alliance
Wanda Sigur, chair, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable
Wanda Peters, deputy associate administrator for programs, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington
Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Bob Balaram, chief engineer, Ingenuity Mars helicopter, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California

The moderated session will involve questions from the webinar leader, as well as those who have registered for the event via Zoom. Participation in the Zoom event is limited to 1,000 people and is the only way to ask a direct question, via the chat function.

To register for the Zoom event, go to:

https://aiaa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EawhXVLJRK-NsQcMkLT94g

NASA collaborated on the event with AIAA, including guidance from industry and government members who advise on curriculum for the organization's ASCEND events, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery.

For more information about Perseverance, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/perseverance

and

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

SOURCE NASA