Excited by the Exploration of Mars? View Perseverance and Ingenuity at Adler Planetarium

If NASA’s exploration of Mars excites you, you need to see Roving with Perseverance, a new traveling exhibit at Adler Planetarium. Full-scale models of Perseverance and Ingenuity will share the same exhibit space as fellow Martian rovers Opportunity and Spirit in the museum’s Solar System Gallery.

Roving with Perseverance will only be on exhibit in this iconic Chicago museum for a few months, until January 2, 2023, so start planning a visit if you want to see them yourself.

A Dose of Inspiration for Your Trip

Walk through the Our Solar System gallery at the Adler, and you experience a sense of awe. But the full-scale rovers inspire and motivate anyone with a sense of adventure and learning.

Perseverance and Ingenuity take in their surrounding. Photo: Michael Galindo/Cosmic Chicago

Opportunity and Spirit rest on a Martian landscape with Perseverance and all its instruments ready for action beside them. Installed with its robotic arm extended, tools to the ground, and cameras facing forward, Perseverance appears to be taking in the museum.

Ingenuity hovers just above, rotors extended and ready to take flight. Together, these off-world robotics demonstrate how they work to explore and teach us more about Mars than ever before.

Otherworldly Adventures of Perseverance and Ingenuity

Launched from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V rocket, Perseverance survived its seven minutes of terror with Ingenuity in its belly, to land on the surface of Mars six months later. Exploring Jezero Crater in search of ancient life, Perseverance has hit so many milestones and realized many firsts for science.

In just a year, Perseverance has taken over 100,000 images of Mars’ surface, collected 12 core samples of the planet, traveled 7.34 miles, and set a record as the fastest rover on Mars.

Ingenuity hovers in flight over the Planetarium. Photo: Michael Galindo/Cosmic Chicago

Since its first flight on Mars, Ingenuity has made 28 more flights over the last year and traveled a total of 4.4 miles. The model of Ingenuity hanging at the Adler is an incredible reminder of the day we achieved powered flight on another planet.

Roving Rovers

Perseverance is the fifth Martian rover NASA has launched to our neighboring planet- Sojourner went first almost 26 years ago. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where these replicas are from, controlled all five rovers, including Perseverance and Ingenuity.

A look at the cameras on Perseverance. Photo: Michael Galindo/Cosmic Chicago

Researchers and engineers at JPL use replica rovers to help them train for each campaign and troubleshoot issues that arise. You can follow the mission and track Perseverance’s location on Mars from home using the interactive Where is the Rover? map.

Museum Details

The Adler Planetarium is located at 1300 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Hours are Monday – Friday, 9am-4pm, with extended hours every Wednesday evening until 10 pm for Adler at Night. These evening hours are free for Illinois residents, but tickets are still required and can be purchased online. Visit adlerplanetarium.org for more information.

This article was previously published by Sophie Sanchez on ChicagoNow.