Narrated Video Shows Incredible View of Mars as Perseverance Was Landing

The American space agency released this incredible video four days after the rover reached its landing site in the Jezero crater. It shows the last few minutes of the mission, after the spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere, with the images synced to the commentary provided by aerospace engineer Swati Mohan, the one we all heard live on February 18.

The video kicks off 230 seconds after reaching the atmosphere at 12,500 mph (20,100 kph), with the rover parachute deployment, and it is followed seconds later by heat shield separation. The piece is seen falling down toward the planet's red surface, captured by the cameras on the rover as it dangles in the atmosphere attached to the parachute.

These amazing shots are followed by a couple of minutes of images no other humans in history have seen: the surface of Mars growing bigger and bigger as the rover approaches the soil, revealing the meteor impact scars of the planet, its plains, and ridges popping into view from time to time.

We get to witness the rover perform course corrections and the surface growing larger and larger as the human-made machine zeroed in on its landing spot. We even get to see Martian dust blown away as the landing boosters come to life.

“Tango delta. Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life.” That’s how it all ends, and with a view of the people over at the JPL mission control erupting into cheers.

“This video of Perseverance’s descent is the closest you can get to landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit,” said in a statement Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science. “It should become mandatory viewing for young women and men who not only want to explore other worlds and build the spacecraft that will take them there, but also want to be part of the diverse teams achieving all the audacious goals in our future.”