NASA is targeting 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 a.m. PDT) Thursday, July 30, for the launch of its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window is approximately two hours, with a launch opportunity every five minutes.
Questions may be asked via social media with the hashtag #CountdownToMars.
Full mission coverage is as follows:
Monday, July 27
1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT) - Mars 2020 Prelaunch News Conference. Participants include:
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate
Omar Baez, launch director, NASA's Launch Services Program
Matt Wallace, deputy project manager, JPL
Tory Bruno, CEO, United Launch Alliance
Jessica Williams, launch weather officer, 45th Space Force
3 p.m. EDT (noon PDT) - Mars 2020 Mission Engineering/Science Briefing. Participants include:
Lori Glaze, NASA Planetary Science Division director
Jennifer Trosper, deputy project manager, JPL
Farah Alibay, mobility engineer, JPL
Ken Farley, project scientist, Caltech
Tanja Bosak, science team member, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tuesday, July 28
2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT) - Mars 2020 Mars Sample Return Briefing. Participants include:
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate
David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration, ESA (European Space Agency)
Jeff Gramling, NASA Mars Sample Return Program director
Julie Townsend, sampling and caching operations lead, JPL
Chris Herd, returned sample science participating scientist, University of Alberta
Lisa Pratt, NASA planetary protection officer
4 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. PDT) - Mars 2020 Mission Tech and Humans to Mars Briefing. Participants include:
Jeff Sheehy, chief engineer, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate
Jim Watzin, NASA Mars Exploration Program director
Michael Hecht, MOXIE principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager, JPL
Amy Ross, lead spacesuit engineer NASA's Johnson Space Center
Michelle Rucker, Mars Integration Group lead, NASA's Johnson Space Center
Wednesday, July 29
Noon EDT (9 a.m. PDT) - Administrator Briefing. Participants include:
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard
Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman
3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT) – NASA Social Q&A Live from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jessica Clarke, Mars 2020 fault protection engineer, JPL
Christina Hernandez, Mars 2020 systems engineer, JPL
Joby Razzell Hollis, astrobiologist and SHERLOC post-doctoral scholar, JPL
Thursday, July 30
7 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. PDT) - NASA TV live launch coverage begins
11:30 a.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. PDT) - Postlaunch News Conference
For more about the mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020