On Tuesday, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover was placed atop the Atlas V Rocket that will send it to the red planet in the coming month. The rover which is similar to the Curiosity rover sent up in 2011 has a launch window between July 30 to August 15th. This is slightly delayed from the original launch period due to processing delays of the rocket and rover.
The goal of the Perseverance Rover is to search for signs of ancient microbial life while also collecting samples that could possibly be sent back to Earth in the future. Along with the rover, a drone will be deployed making for the first flight on another planet.

The rover will take over 5 months to reach the red planet with plans to land in Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.