Combine Bingo & Rocket Science with the Mars Rover
On the 18th February 2021, NASA’s latest robot rocket rover will touch down on the surface of Mars to gather vital scientific data. Everyone is invited to listen along to the live broadcast and play a game of Perseverance Bingo.
A big milestone in the Mars 2020 Mission takes place as the Perseverance Rover will touch down on the surface of the red planet for the first time. There, it will gather crucial samples to take back to earth in order determine whether there is or ever was life on Mars.
The landing is fraught with potential pitfalls. There is no guarantee that the rover will even make its landing in the Jezero Crater. After all, only 40% of surface landing missions have been successful.
Curiosity, the previous Rover, is still on Mars, having been active since 2012. However, the Perseverance will look to take that one giant leap for mankind and find evidence of life. If all goes to plan, the new Rover will bring its physical evidence back to earth in 2031 before being studied by scientists all over the world.
To help drum up interest and participation from the general public, NASA has created a game of Perseverance Bingo. The bingo card, which is available here, contains 24 words related to the mission. Players are encouraged to watch and listen to the live broadcast of the landing, and then mark off on their bingo card when they hear a term being used by scientists during the broadcast.
The touch down mission will be live cast on various platforms, including the NASA YouTube feed and other online news outlets. Part of what could make the broadcast so exciting is that the rover is fitted with state of the art cameras and a microphone. People could potential “hear” a Mars landing for the first time ever!
So watch, learn, and play some bingo along with one of the most exciting space missions of our time. God’s speed to all those involved!
