NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life

A view of Mars from NASA's Perseverance Rover, Photo Date: 2/18/2021

The space agency says the six-wheeled Perseverance hurtled through the thin, orange atmosphere and settled onto the surface Thursday in the mission’s riskiest maneuver yet.

Posted: Feb 18, 2021 3:18 PM

Updated: Feb 18, 2021 3:21 PM

Posted By: Marcia Dunn, WTVA

Watch NASA's live coverage.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA rover has landed on Mars in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on the red planet.

NASA employees celebrate after the Perseverance Rover lands on Mars, Photo Date: 2/18/2021

NASA's mission trailer shows the Perseverance rover making a dramatic landing on Mars, Photo Date: Dec 22, 2020

The space agency says the six-wheeled Perseverance hurtled through the thin, orange atmosphere and settled onto the surface Thursday in the mission’s riskiest maneuver yet.

Mars has long been a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft.

Perseverance will collect geological samples that will be brought back to Earth in about a decade to be analyzed for signs of ancient microscopic life.

Mississippi Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 291891

Reported Deaths: 6605

County	Cases	Deaths
DeSoto	19470	226
Hinds	18555	383
Harrison	16385	273
Rankin	12498	260
Jackson	12401	216
Lee	9635	160
Madison	9353	193
Jones	7836	144
Forrest	7055	135
Lauderdale	6735	225
Lowndes	5989	137
Lamar	5793	79
Lafayette	5688	113
Washington	5124	128
Bolivar	4567	120
Oktibbeha	4380	91
Panola	4240	92
Warren	4091	113
Pearl River	4070	127
Pontotoc	4060	66
Marshall	3979	92
Monroe	3971	125
Union	3913	72
Neshoba	3746	166
Lincoln	3437	99
Hancock	3377	73
Leflore	3346	118
Sunflower	3157	85
Tate	2991	72
Pike	2977	92
Scott	2913	67
Alcorn	2897	60
Itawamba	2884	71
Yazoo	2826	62
Tippah	2752	65
Copiah	2733	57
Coahoma	2722	65
Simpson	2692	78
Prentiss	2671	58
Leake	2508	70
Wayne	2501	40
Marion	2494	78
Covington	2462	77
Grenada	2445	76
Adams	2323	74
George	2295	45
Newton	2225	51
Winston	2201	74
Tishomingo	2109	65
Jasper	2103	43
Attala	2056	69
Chickasaw	2002	50
Holmes	1814	70
Clay	1773	48
Stone	1707	29
Tallahatchie	1690	39
Clarke	1676	71
Calhoun	1553	27
Smith	1511	31
Yalobusha	1419	36
Greene	1263	33
Walthall	1230	40
Noxubee	1224	29
Montgomery	1205	37
Perry	1201	33
Lawrence	1184	20
Carroll	1171	23
Amite	1106	32
Webster	1086	29
Jefferson Davis	998	31
Tunica	979	23
Claiborne	973	29
Benton	925	24
Humphreys	912	26
Kemper	892	22
Quitman	766	14
Franklin	753	19
Choctaw	693	16
Wilkinson	622	26
Jefferson	608	27
Sharkey	488	17
Issaquena	167	6
Unassigned	0	0

Alabama Coronavirus Cases

Cases: 488973

Reported Deaths: 9660

County	Cases	Deaths
Jefferson	70332	1342
Mobile	35725	716
Madison	32088	437
Tuscaloosa	23913	404
Montgomery	22369	481
Shelby	21714	209
Baldwin	19554	263
Lee	14827	147
Morgan	13529	243
Etowah	13091	309
Calhoun	13063	281
Marshall	11197	202
Houston	10019	255
Limestone	9303	130
Elmore	9283	179
Cullman	8856	176
St. Clair	8747	214
Lauderdale	8541	209
DeKalb	8419	173
Talladega	7424	161
Walker	6466	240
Jackson	6450	101
Autauga	6143	84
Blount	6058	125
Colbert	5973	118
Coffee	5222	99
Dale	4606	106
Russell	4005	30
Franklin	3965	75
Covington	3918	105
Chilton	3800	96
Escambia	3759	70
Tallapoosa	3533	138
Clarke	3423	48
Dallas	3385	139
Chambers	3382	102
Pike	2924	71
Lawrence	2806	85
Marion	2774	92
Winston	2445	63
Marengo	2434	54
Bibb	2432	59
Geneva	2381	68
Pickens	2234	53
Barbour	2084	50
Hale	2080	64
Fayette	1987	55
Butler	1948	65
Henry	1817	41
Cherokee	1757	37
Monroe	1655	38
Randolph	1612	40
Washington	1558	32
Crenshaw	1430	52
Clay	1425	54
Macon	1403	44
Cleburne	1361	39
Lamar	1306	32
Lowndes	1301	48
Wilcox	1205	25
Bullock	1160	33
Conecuh	1064	23
Perry	1049	27
Sumter	982	31
Greene	867	32
Coosa	863	23
Choctaw	547	23
Out of AL	0	0
Unassigned	0	0