Several projections were performed both from the ground and helicopter and were carried out over distances of up to 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) and dimensions of up to 2.2 kilometers (1.3 miles) in height. The images were projected onto the iconic Swiss mountains of Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau as seen in this photo of an astronaut being projected onto the north face of Mt. Eiger, by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, taken on Feb. 14, 2021.
NASA's "Perseverance" Mars rover will land on the red planet on Thursday after a nearly seven-month journey through space. The rover, which NASA has hailed as its "most sophisticated" ever sent to Mars, is a technological feat equipped with seven instruments that will help it examine the planet, according to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
A giant projection of the NASA Mars 2020 mission logo on the north face of Mt. Eiger (L), the NASA logo projected onto Mt. Monch and an astronaut pictured on Mt. Jungfrau (R) by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter seen from the alpine resort of Mannlichen, Switzerland, in a photo taken on Feb. 14, 2021.
The "Perseverance" rover is set to land at the base of a crater called Jezero, a 3.5-billion-year-old former lake that scientists say could provide evidence that microbes previously existed on Mars, according to dpa. The planet had water on its surface billions of years ago, a fact that has led to speculation that there may have been some form of life on the planet.
A giant projection of the NASA Mars 2020 mission "Perseverance" rover on the Tschuggen mountain (L) and Mars planet on the Jungfrau mountain (R), by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, can be seen in a photo taken on Feb. 15, 2021.
Among the instruments carried by "Perseverance," which is the size of a small car, are state-of-the-art cameras with panoramic capabilities and the ability to zoom in on rock textures from 100 meters away (328 feet). It is also equipped with the "SuperCam," which will zap rocks with a laser to study the vapor, and one particularly vital instrument, known as "SHERLOC," which also uses a laser to search for organic material and minerals that may have been altered by water, giving key insights into the signs of past life.
A giant projection of the NASA Mars 2020 mission logo on the north face of the Eiger mountain, by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, is pictured from the alpine resort of Mannlichen, Switzerland, in a photo taken on Feb. 14, 2021.
As part of the mission, "Perseverance" is expected to study the Mars surface for at least two years as it examines the climate and geology, and collects rock and soil samples. The roughly $2.7 billion rover project will help pave the way for human exploration of the red planet, according to dpa.
A giant projection of the NASA Mars 2020 "Ingenuity" helicopter drone on the Tschuggen mountain (L) and Mars projected on the Jungfrau mountain (R), by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, can be seen in a photo taken on Feb. 15, 2021.
The helicopter drone named "Ingenuity," which could become the first craft to fly on another planet, is strapped to the "Perseverance" rover's belly, and with the helicopter, the rover weighs a little more than a ton, according to dpa.
A giant projection of an astronaut on the north face of Mt. Eiger by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter is pictured from the alpine resort of Mannlichen, Switzerland, in a photo taken on Feb. 14, 2021.
NASA has previously conducted eight successful Mars landings. Its latest mission is part of the Artemis program, which aims to land people on the moon by 2024 and establish a sustained human presence there by 2028, as part of its efforts to get astronauts to Mars, according to dpa.
