‘Together we persevered’: Perseverance takes Twitter centrestage with witty replies after Mars landing
Perseverance’s most touching reply was to California lawmaker and chairman of the US house intelligence committee Adam Schiff.
The news of Nasa’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars was greeted with great jubilation from scientists and lawmakers alike. The rover which is Nasa’s largest ever ‘robotic geologist and astrobiologist’ will conduct several experiments over the next two years to determine whether the Red Planet harboured life.
The Nasa Perseverance rover after its landing also replied in high spirits to tweets congratulating it on its successful landing on the red planet. “Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance’s historic landing possible. Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility,” US president Joe Biden said in a tweet.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Perseverance was quick to thank and reply to Biden. “Thank you, Mr. President. My team persevered through incredible adversity to get me here, and now I’m ready to get to work,” a tweet said on its handle.
The Nasa Perseverance also engaged in conversations with US vice president Kamala Harris and US First Lady Jill Biden. “Congrats to @NASA and all of their partners on their successful mission. Today's historic landing embodies our nation’s spirit of perseverance—building on past accomplishments and paving the way for future missions,” Harris tweeted.
Perseverance in its reply to the congratulatory tweet thanked Harris and said that it has a large to-do list to complete. “Thank you, @VP Harris! I’ve got ambitious goals, and a long to-do list. Looking forward to many more accomplishments to come.”
US First Lady Jill Biden also congratulated Nasa upon its successful landing saying that it is a testament to human endeavor. Jill Biden said, “The #NASAPerseverance has officially landed on Mars! Congratulations to everyone involved. You’ve showed us today that anything is possible.” Perseverance replied, “Thank you! Together we persevered.”
Perseverance’s most touching reply was to California lawmaker and chairman of the US house intelligence committee Adam Schiff. Adam Schiff in his reply to Joe Biden’s congratulatory tweet said, “Mr. President, if you'll indulge me a moment as a proud representative... The Perseverance Rover was built and designed at @NASAJPL in La Cañada, CA. And once it's safe, we'd love to invite you and @VP Harris for a tour of the incredible facility that just put a rover on Mars.”
Perseverance replied to the senator that it remembers its California roots and said that it can confirm the facility’s commitment to the project. It tweeted, “I can confirm - @NASAJPL is a great place. I have a new home now, but I’ll always remember my California roots.”
Nasa’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on Friday after completing its 203 days long journey where it traversed 472 million kilometers after it was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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It has landed on the Jezero crater where it will conduct research and investigate the rock and sediment of Jezero’s ancient lakebed and river delta to study if life-forms ever existed on Earth’s closest neighbour, Nasa said in a statement.
Associate administrator for science at Nasa Thomas Zurbuchen said that the landing is the first step in discovering whether life could have existed beyond Earth. “Perseverance is the first step in bringing back rock and regolith from Mars. We don’t know what these pristine samples from Mars will tell us. But what they could tell us is monumental – including that life might have once existed beyond Earth,” Zurbuchen said in a statement released by the space agency.
