Watch live: NASA launches Mars Perseverance rover to the Red Planet

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The Mars 2020 mission is scheduled to launch its Perseverance rover toward the Red Planet on Thursday, July 30. The launch window will open from 7:50 a.m. EDT on July 30 and close on Aug. 15, 2020. 

The spacecraft will launch on a Atlas V-541 rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. If all goes according to plan, the Perseverance rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, at around 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST, or 8 p.m. UTC). 

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Here's a rough schedule of what to expect in the webcast:

Wednesday, July 29 (9 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. EDT)

—Administrator Briefing to discuss the upcoming launch
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard
Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman

Thursday, July 30 (4 a.m. PDT/7 a.m. EDT)

—Live Launch Coverage Begins
Mission Team Members

July 30 (8:30 a.m. PDT/11:30 a.m. EDT)

—Post-launch News Conference

Jeanna Bryner
Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.