(NASA scientist on anniversary of Mars rover mission) – new video uploaded to AP Video Hub

In the video, she explains how the Perseverance rover mission on Mars has gone this year after it landed in February and its goals for the future. All videos in the Campus Insights series are free for download and use by all AP members and can be found at apvideohub.ap.org or by doing a general search on the Associated Press site. AP members may use the video or to pull quotes for print article or for broadcast or podcast.

STORYLINE:

Horgan helped NASA select Jezero Crater as the landing site for the mission and is part of the team that plans where the rover will go next. Horgan says that the mission’s first year has been a huge success and that the samples that scientists have gathered from Jezero Crater will help provide insight into the history of Mars. When the Perseverance rover first landed at Jezero, Horgan describes how the team discovered what looked to be sedimentary rocks in the area. After microscopic analysis, it turned out these rocks were not sedimentary, but igneous, left over from an ancient lava flow. Horgan says that these igneous rocks and others like them can be used to determine when Jezero Crater held liquid water and when it could have been habitable for life. These results can help researchers calculate when Mars was Earth-like. Horgan says that the mission’s second year will focus on the delta of Jezero Crater, which will hopefully give new insight into microbial life that may have lived at the bottom of an ancient lake.