It's a big day for space exploration as NASA rover Perseverance is scheduled to touch down on Mars.
The rover will be searching for signs of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.
It is a tricky operation, with entry, decent, and landing often referred to as 'the seven minutes of terror.'
Many rovers have been claimed by the planet named for the Roman god of war with some becoming lost upon arrival, and some never even making it to the surface.
The rover will enter the Martian atmosphere at 12 - 13 thousand miles per hour before hopefully landing in the Jezero Crater, once thought to be home to an ancient lake bed.
If the landing is successful, Perseverance will then begin collecting samples that will eventually be returned to Earth in 2034 for analysis.
A Brock University professor, Dr. Mariek Schmidt, will be one of 13 Participating Scientists examining those samples.
NASA will provide livestreams of the event with landing scheduled just before 4 p.m.
"That descent stage takes us all the way down to about 20 meters off the ground. That's when we start the skycrane maneuver."
— NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021
Tomorrow is our @NASAPersevere rover's entry, descent and landing on Mars. Get ready: https://t.co/Y0O9T1rDov pic.twitter.com/jmC7dIiwQ0