The Perseverance rover is set to land on Mars this afternoon, completing a seven-month, 292-million-mile journey. The SUV-sized rover will land on the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient life. That crater may have been home to a lake millions of years ago. JPL designed the precise system of parachutes and rockets needed to safely land the rover on the red planet.
The scientists have dubbed the final descent into the Martian atmosphere "seven minutes of terror," which they hope they'll have conquered by the end of the day.
To watch the landing at 3:55 p.m. ET, you can watch below.
photo: getty images