Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
We Explain L.A.
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:

KPCC Logo

Live Stream Schedule In Person

Keep up with LAist

Our top stories delivered weeknights
Donate

Share This
News

NASA's 'Perseverance' Rover Has Launched, Will Hunt For Life On Mars

By Pablo Cabrera
Published Jul 30, 2020 5:20 AM
5f221802d1f05c000814879f-eight.jpg
This illustration depicts NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars. Perseverance will land at the Red Planet's Jezero Crater a little after 12:40 p.m. PST on Feb. 18, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Stories like these are only possible with your help!
You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community.

NASA launched its Mars Rover "Perseverance" this morning from Cape Canaveral. A project like this requires a lot of people behind the scenes, and one of them is a native Angeleno.

"I grew up in South Central L.A. over in the Crenshaw area and went to school at Cal Poly Pomona, so I stayed an L.A. native basically my entire life," said Luis Dominguez, a Jet Propulsion Lab engineer with Mars 2020 who helped with the rover assembly:

"I originally got into engineering because I wanted to build airplanes and I was just fascinated by how airplanes worked and at some point in 7th grade I found out that aerospace engineers design and build airplanes so that kinda set my trajectory in life."

Dominguez says it's been a dream to be involved with Mars 2020.

The rover is expected to land on the red planet in February.

Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MISSION:

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.