Skip to main content

Watch NASA’s Mars 2020 ‘movie trailer’ with Perseverance as the star

Pitching the upcoming Mars 2020 mission as a kind of blockbuster sci-fi flick, NASA has released a “movie trailer” (below) for the much-anticipated launch currently slated for July 30.

The Perseverance rover is clearly the star of the show, though a cameo appearance by the Ingenuity helicopter, which is also heading to Mars with its rover buddy, threatens to steal the limelight from the headline act when it becomes the first-ever aircraft to fly on another planet.

This summer, we’re launching the largest, heaviest, and most sophisticated vehicle ever sent to the Red Planet — the @NASAPersevere rover.

Liftoff is targeted for July 30. Will you be watching? https://t.co/YhGoY52sxX #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/E2lXs0E0Pg

— NASA (@NASA) July 13, 2020

Following a number of delays in recent weeks, Perseverance and Ingenuity are set to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in just 16 days’ time.

Weighing 2,260 pounds (1,025 kg) and packed with advanced scientific instruments, NASA is describing Perseverance as “the largest, heaviest, and most sophisticated vehicle” that it has ever sent to Mars.

The journey to the distant planet is expected to take about seven months. Once Perseverance sets down on the Martian surface, the six-wheel rover will search for signs of ancient life, collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth, and help prepare for future human exploration.

Ingenuity, on the other hand, will search for potentially interesting research sites on the planet and collect data for mapping routes for future Mars rovers. The camera-equipped helicopter weighs a mere 4 pounds (1.8 kg) and to get airborne uses four rotors, each one a little longer than a meter. Its smarts are contained in a small box-like fuselage that also holds the aircraft’s downward-facing camera. The flying machine will draw power from its solar cells and batteries, and an internal heater will help it deal with Mars’ bitterly cold nights.

In recent days, Perseverance and Ingenuity were placed carefully inside the rocket’s nose cone and then hoisted onto the top of the rocket as part of final preparations for the July 30 launch.

If poor weather or other issues prevent the launch from taking place as currently scheduled, NASA will have other opportunities within the launch window, which runs until August 15.

Editors' Recommendations

Watch NASA’s trailer for SpaceX’s Crew-6 astronaut launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew-4 astronauts launching from the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA and SpaceX are making their final preparations for the first crewed launch from U.S. soil to the International Space Station (ISS) since October 2022.

Traveling aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft early on Monday will be NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

Read more
NASA, SpaceX delay Crew-6 launch to space station
SpaceX's Crew-6 astronauts.

Following a flight readiness review on Tuesday, NASA and SpaceX have decided to delay the Crew-6 launch to the International Space Station by about 24 hours.

The additional time will enable launch personnel to sort out some relatively minor issues with the launch vehicle, officials said.

Read more
NASA and Boeing set date for first crewed test flight of Starliner
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was moved into the Hazardous Processing Area at the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2023, in advance of power up and fueling operations.

NASA has announced it plans to launch the first crewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner capsule this April. The spacecraft has been through a troubled development and testing process but aims to become a second U.S.-based crew transport vehicle along with the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was moved into the Hazardous Processing Area at the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2023, in advance of power up and fueling operations. NASA

Read more