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NASA
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Next Stop, Mars
Alexander Mather wants to explore space one day. For now, the seventh-grader from Virginia has done the next best thing. He’s named a rover that will go to Mars!
Joseph Rebello/NASA
NASA held an essay contest to name its newest robot. About 28,000 students— from kindergarten through 12th grade— entered. Alexander won with the name Perseverance. That’s the act of continuing to do something even though it is difficult.
“We will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere,” Alexander wrote in his essay.
Ready for Blastoff
Alexander and his family have been invited to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida this summer. There, they’ll watch the rover as it is launched on its mission to the Red Planet. The trip will cover millions of miles and take about seven months. The car-sized wheeled robot is expected to touch down on Mars in February 2021.
Roving Around the Red Planet
Perseverance will be the fifth rover that NASA has sent to Mars since 1997. The rover Curiosity has been exploring the planet for nearly eight years.
Like previous rovers, Perseverance will be operated by a team back on Earth. The rover has 23 cameras that NASA scientists will use as its “eyes” to help slowly maneuver it around the rocky landscape. The rover will be looking for evidence that microscopic life once existed on Mars.
The rover will also study the Martian climate and explore ways to get oxygen from the deadly atmosphere. Astronauts could use that oxygen to breathe when they make the first human journey to the Red Planet.