NASA's Perseverance rover sends first image from the surface of Mars

The NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has sent back its first image from the surface of the Mars which came from the spacecraft’s Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams).

According to NASA, the image(s) came from Perseverance’s Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) after landing on the surface of the Red Planet, which helped with driving.

It stated that the clear protective covers over these cameras are still on, whereas, the first images are low-resolution versions known as “thumbnails” and the higher-resolution versions will be available later.

Cheers erupted in mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as controllers confirmed that NASA’s Perseverance rover, with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter attached to its belly, has touched down safely on Mars, stated NASA blogs. Engineers have started analyzing the data flowing back from the spacecraft.

The team of engineers that piloted NASA’s Mars 2020 spacecraft, with the Perseverance rover and NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter inside, during the cruise from Earth to the Red Planet has handed over the reins to the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) team.

Miss my landing? Catch the highlights below.

Send us your own highlights too. Share your pictures and video using #CountdownToMars. pic.twitter.com/OL2wSAi36e

— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021

The spacecraft was expected to hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at around 3:48 p.m. EST (12:48 p.m. PST) and touched down at around 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST).

Many engineers referred to the time it takes to land on Mars as the “seven minutes of terror.”

Not only is the choreography of EDL complex, but the time delay involved in communicating with Earth means that the spacecraft has to accomplish this choreography all by itself.

NASA hosted the live coverage of landing on NASA TV and YouTube.