Astronomy buffs in the Tampa Bay area celebrated Perseverance Rover’s landing.
What You Need To Know
- Members of St. Petersburg Astronomy Club express excitement over Mars rover landing
- Perseverance’s mission is to search for life on Mars
- The pandemic has increased interest in the club
“It was exciting but a little nerve-wracking too,” said Chris Curran, a member of the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club (SPAC).
Perseverance landed safely at 3:55 pm; the 11-minute delay on the signal made it even more of a nail-biter for those watching from the Gulf coast.
“Everything you’re seeing now you know has already happened, so them telling you that parachutes are open, you’re like, “Yeah but did it crash?” Curran said.
One of the SPAC members watching today was Antonio Paris, a NASA planetary scientist from St. Petersburg.
“[Every other mission] has been about geology, and the previous one was about tectonics; but this is the first time instrumentation is specifically looking for ancient life on Mars,” Paris explained.
So, are we talking about microorganisms or aliens?
“I wouldn’t know how to answer that!” Paris laughed.
But answering that question is the entire point of the multi-billion-dollar mission.
“They’re going to have to dig and look for methane maybe, things that gave off life,” Paris said.
SPAC has a long history in the Tampa Bay area. The organization has been meeting monthly since the 1920s.
“The club always gets excited about things like this because it does build up interest in astronomy,” said Kyle Brinkman, who sits on the board of directors.
And yet, the age of social distancing and Zoom calls hasn’t stopped them.
“2020 was actually not a bad year for our club. [Since] moving our general meetings online, people enjoyed the hobby, looking for something to do in their backyard, isolated,” Brinkman said.
And that’s exactly how the club’s members witnessed another chapter of space history on Thursday.