Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Perseverance: How to Land on Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 20, 2021 is “Perseverance: How to Land on Mars,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , JPL , Mars 2020. The original explanation runs about 137 words.

Perseverance: How to Land on Mars
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , JPL , Mars 2020 Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Slung beneath its rocket powered descent stage Perseverance hangs only a few meters above the martian surface, captured here moments before its February 18 touchdown on the Red Planet. The breath-taking view followed an intense seven minute trip from the top of the martian atmosphere.”

— APOD editors, February 20, 2021

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 20, 2021
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , JPL , Mars 2020
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 137 words

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Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 20 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.