NASA Update: Perserverance May Have To Wait Until... 2022, To Launch For Mars...

That would make it true to its name, I suppose. But to be certain, Mars is moving steadily away from Earth, as the two orbits lag one another, around the Sun. And that means with each day after about July 4, the window is closing to fly to Mars this summer. We may have until about August 15, but. . . after that, Mars will just be too far away to safely reach it, with the fuel available, after launch.

The next time Mars draws close enough to Earth -- to use a foreshortened trajectory -- will be in mid 2022. And there is still some chance that NASA's pre-flight checks will be completed in time to launch by July 30. But it is only a chance at this point.

In any event, we wanted to get some off-world hopefulness up, after the disturbing possibilities presented by Ms. Maxwell's arrest. . . we genuinely hope she is in a safely isolated custodial arrangement. Here's NASA's latest:

. . . .Due to launch vehicle processing delays in preparation for spacecraft mate operations, NASA and United Launch Alliance have moved the first launch attempt of the Mars 2020 mission to no earlier than July 30. A liquid oxygen sensor line presented off-nominal data during the Wet Dress Rehearsal, and additional time is needed for the team to inspect and evaluate. Flight analysis teams have expanded the mission launch opportunities to August 15. . . .

We shall keep a close watch on this particular horizon -- as the light winds of Barsoom stir us, viscerally. Grin.

. . .Mars, a coal of fire is rising,

Rising slowly in the summer twilight sky

Fierce it glows beyond the pine trees,

With a redness all its own,

Rising lonely, while the night breeze

Stirs the branches, with a moan. . . .

-- Catherine Cate Coblentz,
Mars Hill, Lowell Observatory
Flagstaff, Arizona 1924

Indeed. She climbs into the summer night's skies. . . with a moan. Smile.

नमस्ते