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- Written by: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is on its way to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to send back to Earth.
Humanity's most sophisticated rover launched with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at 4:50 a.m. PDT on Thursday on a United Launch Alliance, or ULA, Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
"With the launch of Perseverance, we begin another historic mission of exploration," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This amazing explorer's journey has already required the very best from all of us to get it to launch through these challenging times. Now we can look forward to its incredible science and to bringing samples of Mars home even as we advance human missions to the Red Planet. As a mission, as an agency, and as a country, we will persevere."
The ULA Atlas V's Centaur upper stage initially placed the Mars 2020 spacecraft into a parking orbit around Earth. The engine fired for a second time and the spacecraft separated from the Centaur as expected. Navigation data indicate the spacecraft is perfectly on course to Mars.
Mars 2020 sent its first signal to ground controllers via NASA's Deep Space Network at 6:15 a.m. PDT. However, telemetry (more detailed spacecraft data) had not yet been acquired at that point.
Around 8:30 a.m. PDT, a signal with telemetry was received from Mars 2020 by NASA ground stations. Data indicate the spacecraft had entered a state known as safe mode, likely because a part of the spacecraft was a little colder than expected while Mars 2020 was in Earth's shadow. All temperatures are now nominal and the spacecraft is out of Earth's shadow.
When a spacecraft enters safe mode, all but essential systems are turned off until it receives new commands from mission control. An interplanetary launch is fast-paced and dynamic, so a spacecraft is designed to put itself in safe mode if its onboard computer perceives conditions are not within its preset parameters. Right now, the Mars 2020 mission is completing a full health assessment on the spacecraft and is working to return the spacecraft to a nominal configuration for its journey to Mars.
The Perseverance rover's astrobiology mission is to seek out signs of past microscopic life on Mars, explore the diverse geology of its landing site, Jezero Crater, and demonstrate key technologies that will help us prepare for future robotic and human exploration.
"Jezero Crater is the perfect place to search for signs of ancient life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "Perseverance is going to make discoveries that cause us to rethink our questions about what Mars was like and how we understand it today. As our instruments investigate rocks along an ancient lake bottom and select samples to return to Earth, we may very well be reaching back in time to get the information scientists need to say that life has existed elsewhere in the universe."
The Martian rock and dust Perseverance’s Sample Caching System collects could answer fundamental questions about the potential for life to exist beyond Earth.
Two future missions currently under consideration by NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, will work together to get the samples to an orbiter for return to Earth.
When they arrive on Earth, the Mars samples will undergo in-depth analysis by scientists around the world using equipment far too large to send to the Red Planet.
An eye to a Martian tomorrow
While most of Perseverance's seven instruments are geared toward learning more about the planet's geology and astrobiology, the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, instrument's job is focused on missions yet to come.
Designed to demonstrate that converting Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen is possible, it could lead to future versions of MOXIE technology that become staples on Mars missions, providing oxygen for rocket fuel and breathable air.
Also future-leaning is the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which will remain attached to the belly of Perseverance for the flight to Mars and the first 60 or so days on the surface. A technology demonstrator, Ingenuity's goal is a pure flight test – it carries no science instruments.
Over 30 sols (31 Earth days), the helicopter will attempt up to five powered, controlled flights. The data acquired during these flight tests will help the next generation of Mars helicopters provide an aerial dimension to Mars explorations – potentially scouting for rovers and human crews, transporting small payloads, or investigating difficult-to-reach destinations.
The rover's technologies for entry, descent, and landing also will provide information to advance future human missions to Mars.
"Perseverance is the most capable rover in history because it is standing on the shoulders of our pioneers Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity," said Michael Watkins, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "In the same way, the descendants of Ingenuity and MOXIE will become valuable tools for future explorers to the Red Planet and beyond."
About seven cold, dark, unforgiving months of interplanetary space travel lay ahead for the mission – a fact never far from the mind of Mars 2020 project team.
"There is still a lot of road between us and Mars," said John McNamee, Mars 2020 project manager at JPL. "About 290 million miles of them. But if there was ever a team that could make it happen, it is this one. We are going to Jezero Crater. We will see you there Feb. 18, 2021."
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of America's larger Moon to Mars exploration approach that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis program.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and will manage operations of the Mars Perseverance rover. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management, and ULA provided the Atlas V rocket.
Learn more about the Mars 2020 mission at https://www.nasa.gov/mars2020 .
For more about America’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, visit https://nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars .
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Dr. Gary Pace said that the county’s confirmed cases are up to 195, an increase of 12 cases over Thursday and an increase of 29 since Pace’s last report on July 23.
Of the 195 cases reported on Friday, 21 are active and currently being monitored by Public Health staff; two currently are hospitalized, one locally and one out of county; and 173 have recovered, Pace said. At the start of this month Public Health said one patient had died.
The Public Health COVID-19 dashboard shows that 6,983 tests have been conducted in Lake County, with a 3.4 percent positivity rate for the last 14 days.
“COVID-19 activity remains manageable in Lake County at this time,” said Pace.
A Friday afternoon report from the California Department of Public Health said that California has 493,588 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9,005 deaths attributed to it.
Pace said a “high level of vigilance” has kept Lake County’s numbers relatively low, and that needs to be maintained “for the long haul.”
Statewide delays in testing results have recently affected the reliability of “active cases,” as a meaningful indicator of how COVID-19 is affecting Lake County communities, Pace said.
“Additionally, with many residents regularly leaving Lake County to work and shop, the probability of coming into contact with COVID-19 may be markedly greater, at times, than our local numbers, alone, would suggest,” he explained.
Pace said that vigilant local monitoring by Public Health officials and staff, Sheriff Brian Martin, Captain Norm Taylor, and County Deputy Sheriffs and staff serving in the Lake County Jail, and leadership and staff at skilled nursing and other congregate living facilities has kept Lake County’s virus numbers low and outbreaks at bay.
“That vigilance must be the norm for the foreseeable future, and will require ongoing community support to sustain,” Pace said.
That’s especially key now that all of Lake’s six neighboring counties have been placed on the state’s watch list, Pace said.
As of Friday, 37 counties – representing 93 percent of Californians – have been placed on that monitoring list in accordance with the California Department of Public Health’s County Data Monitoring protocol.
Pace added that Public Health greatly appreciates that many people have stepped up to help the agency of late. Any others interested in volunteering to support Lake County’s COVID-19 response effort can write to
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
This is the first death in California of a teenager, and this young person had underlying health conditions, officials said.
Due to patient confidentiality, CDPH will not provide any additional information about this death.
CDPH said there have been no reported deaths in younger age categories, including children 5 and under.
“Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of this young person whose death is a tragic and powerful reminder of how serious COVID-19 can be,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, state Public Health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health.
Officials said California has 493,588 confirmed cases to date and 9,005 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
As of July 29, local health departments have reported 23,513 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 127 deaths statewide, CDPH said.
CDPH said Friday that the seven-day average number of new cases is 8,322 per day. The seven-day average from the week prior was 9,881.
In addition, there have been 7,811,041 tests conducted in California. CDPH said this represents an increase of 177,201 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.
CDPH also has been giving weekly updates on the number of cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, reported in the state.
As of July 28, 25 cases of MIS-C have been reported statewide. To protect patient confidentiality in counties with fewer than 11 cases, the state is not providing total counts at this time.
MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life-threatening.
Health officials said parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes or feeling tired. Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients are critical to preventing long-term complications.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – After an extensive search to fill key management positions that were left vacant last year, Woodland Community College announced it will begin the new academic year with a complete management team that is fully prepared to serve students across three counties.
WCC President Dr. Art Pimentel and the college community welcomed Dr. Cirilo Cortez, dean of the Lake County Campus in Clearlake; Adela Esquivel-Swinson, vice president of student services; Sandra Fowler, dean of career education; and Dr. Shannon Reed, dean of arts and sciences.
They join vice president of instruction, Kasey Gardner, who has been with WCC since November of 2019.
Dr. Cirilo Cortez comes to the college from the University of California Davis where he served as founding director of the Center of Chicanx and Latinx Academic Success Center.
With degrees from Sonoma State and UC Davis and more than 10 years in higher education, across community college, CSU and UC systems, and close ties to the area having grown up in Lake County, Dr. Cortez noted he is “passionate for serving rural communities and for inspiring students to consider higher education as a vehicle for social mobility.”
Dr. Cortez will oversee a diverse student population and will return to Lake County where he grew up.
Adela Esquivel-Swinson will serve as the college’s new vice president of student services. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education. Her career includes serving diverse community colleges in various capacities across California. Throughout her career, she has championed access and student success.
Prior to joining Woodland Community College, she served as vice president of student affairs at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose. She holds a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in educational leadership and social justice from Antioch University in Santa Barbara and a human services degree with an emphasis in counseling from Notre Dame de Namuir University.
When asked what she is most excited about in this new role, she said, “the opportunity to work with a group of dynamic leaders and in an institution that is student and community-centered.”
Dr. Shannon Reed, a native of Northern California, is returning to the Golden State after working on the East Coast and most recently Regis University in Colorado. She joins the college as its new dean of arts and sciences.
“I grew up in the Central Valley and it feels really good to be coming home. I am excited about joining Woodland Community College because everyone here is so deeply committed to our students,” Reed said.
An alumna of Earlham College, CSU Sacramento and the University of Alabama, Dr. Reed brings years of experience working in higher education both in the classroom and in administration.
With degrees in agribusiness from California Polytechnic State University, a Master’s of Business Administration from Capella University and currently working on her doctorate degree in educational leadership from CSU Sacramento, Sandra Fowler is the new dean of career education.
Fowler has 15 years of experience working in the private industry and served as director of the career and technical education at Yuba Community College. She oversees WCC’s Dual Enrollment Program, which offers college-level courses to high school students in the college’s service area.
Dual Enrollment’s most notable accomplishment because of her continued investment and forward-thinking approach on dual enrollment and helping students achieve their educational and career goals, which includes reinforcing partnerships with community and industry representatives.
Completing the team is the college’s vice president of instruction, Kasey Gardner. Gardner earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Kentucky University, a master’s in communication from the University of the Pacific and a Master’s of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s College.
With his work as a professor of communication and director of forensics at Los Medanos College and serving as dean of behavioral and social sciences at Sacramento City College, he brings vast knowledge and understanding of faculty and administrative needs to the college. Evidence of his work ethic and optimism, he has led numerous workgroups and participated in committees at college and district levels to address COVID 19 effects on higher education.
“COVID-19 was a challenge we had not planned for in the past, but it has given us a great chance to collaborate with our community leadership. In the next academic year, I am looking forward to seeing how our new management team and the creativity of our staff combine to deliver great instruction, new services, and enhanced programs for our students,” Gardner said.
With this new leadership team and committed staff, faculty and students, Woodland Community College will start the fall semester on Monday, Aug. 17.