The U.S. Space Agency (NASA) released an animation on February 18 showing a ton of persistence arriving on Mars.

The robot was sent to a crater called Jessero, where it was used for evidence of past life. But to deal with this knowledge one must first be gentle.

The series of plots required to land on Mars is called ‘Seven Minute Terror’ – for good reason.

There is so much to do in such a frightening time, otherwise the upcoming mission will dig a very big and expensive new hole in the Red Planet.

What’s more, they are all autonomous.

With a distance of 209 million kilometers (130 million miles) per day between Earth and Mars, the onboard computer must command every moment you see in animation.

The Perseverance Rover launches more than 100 km from Mars, where it first visited the atmosphere.

At this point, the vehicle is traveling at 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) per hour on its protective cap.

In about 400 seconds, the descent system will bring this speed to less than 1 m / s above the surface.

Most work is done with a heat shield.

As the capsule goes deeper into the air on Mars, it heats up to more than 1,000C – but at the same time significantly reduces the resistance.

By the time the supersonic parachute was launched from the outer cover of the capsule, its speed had been reduced to 1,200 kilometers per hour.

Persistence will propel the 21.5 meter parachute just one minute further, which will scrub the access speed further.

However, the most complex phase is yet to come.

After traveling at an altitude of 2 km / h and a top speed of 100 m / s – the Perseverance Rover and its “skycrane” detached from behind.

Eight rockets fired over the cradle and brought the misguided beam into a hover just above the surface. Nylon rope is used to lower a multi-billion dollar motor vehicle to the ground.

The story continues

But that is still not enough.

When tolerant contact is found, the wire must be disconnected immediately, otherwise the cable will fly to maintain a safe distance from the cradle when pulled to the back of the crane.

This series is similar to the one we used to place Curiosity, NASA’s last rover, on the surface of Mars 12 years ago. However, navigation aids have been improved to maintain stability in a more accurate landing zone.

Landings are expected to take place on Tuesday afternoon local time – just before 21:00 GMT on Earth.

Remember that it takes 700 seconds for a radio signal to reach Earth from Mars.

That is, when NASA receives a message from the persistence that it has reached the top of the atmosphere, the mission will either die or live several minutes on the surface of the planet.

The robot will record its offspring on a camera and microphone. On landing the media files will be sent back to Earth – if we assume that stability exists.

Read our Persistence Manual (also known as the Mars 2020 Mission) – where to go and what to do.