A new NASA-funded planet-hunting instrument has been installed on the WIYN telescope, on Arizona's Kitt Peak. NEID (pronounced NOO-id) is a spectrometer that is one of the first instruments of its kind with the precision to detect small, terrestrial planets around nearby stars. NEID will also confirm the presence of planets discovered by NASA's TESS space telescope, and reveal details of their anatomy.
 
Eventually, scientists want to be able to find Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, in an effort to find a world with life on it.

NASA's New Planet Tracker, NEID

High-definition (HD) videos from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory feature the latest news on space and science findings from JPL and NASA. Topics include discoveries made by spacecraft studying planets in our solar system, including Mars, Saturn and our home planet, Earth. Missions also study stars and galaxies in our universe.

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What are some skywatching highlights in August 2020? See the Moon posing with various planets throughout the month, plus catch the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

What's Up - August 2020

NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars today by successfully launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket. It now begins its seven-month journey to the Red Planet, landing there on Feb. 18, 2021.

NASA's Perseverance Rover Launches to Mars

To get ready for the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, NASA invited the public to join a global, collective #CountdownToMars project. Fans from around the world recorded videos of their creative countdowns, giving Perseverance a celebratory sendoff for its launch on July 30, 2020.

Perseverance is set to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.  For more information on the rover’s mission, visit: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Launches With Your #CountdownToMars

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is heading to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life, collect samples for future return to Earth and help pave the way for human exploration. The rover will carry with it several technology demonstrations including a helicopter, which will attempt humanity's first powered flight on another planet. Perseverance has a new set of science instruments and the ability to “self-drive” on the Martian surface.   

The Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as early as July 30. It is set to land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.

For more information on Mars 2020, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance and https://mars.nasa.gov/perseverance 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mission Overview: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover

In February 2020, NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars by first traveling across the United States. The rover was built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and then carefully packed and flown to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. There, engineers integrated the rover with the spacecraft that carries it to Mars, and the Atlas V rocket chosen to send it on its way.

NASA's New Planet Tracker, NEID

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