On what date (UTC) did the Perseverance rover land on Mars?

The Perseverance rover landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, at 20:55 UTC. The rover touched down inside Jezero Crater as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, beginning a search for geological evidence of ancient microbial life.

Perseverance traveled from Earth aboard an Atlas V rocket launched on July 30, 2020. Its entry, descent, and landing sequence used a heat shield, supersonic parachute, and rocket-powered sky crane. Terrain-Relative Navigation helped the spacecraft compare surface images with onboard maps and steer toward a safer landing area.

The landing date is sometimes confused because NASA announced success on Earth only after radio signals crossed the roughly 11-minute distance between Mars and Earth. The signal confirming touchdown arrived at 20:55 UTC, but the physical landing had already occurred by the time Earth received that confirmation.

Perseverance landed at a site later named Octavia E. Butler Landing. The mission also carried Ingenuity, which became the first powered aircraft to fly on another planet after deployment from the rover.