No matter how hard we try, we can't escape Earth and land on Mars at the moment. But here's the next best thing: a replica of the Perseverance rover—which is currently en route to the Red Planet, expected to land there in February of 2021—has taken residence at the Kennedy Space Center and you can actually visit it.
The life-size reproduction sits alongside a model of the Ingenuity helicopter, now being carried through space by Perseverance and set to help with the Mars excursion next year, as part of a new exhibit titled Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted at the Visitor Complex.
When exploring the show, be sure to check out the other exciting reproductions on display, including the Mars Rover Vehicle Navigator (MRVN), which was created in collaboration with NASA as "a concept vehicle designed for navigating the demanding landscape of Mars." You will also be able to catch the super cool space-themed film Journey to Space at the iMax theater, which will actually make you feel like you're far away from our own planet (and who doesn't need a bit of that right now?).
Would-be astronauts will in turn delight in the use of the training simulators, which will teach them how to pilot a space shuttle, dock it at the International Space Station and even land it at the Kennedy Space Center's own shuttle landing facility. See you in "space?"
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