Testing done at Wright-Patterson made Perseverance and the search for life on Mars possible
This image taken by NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance shows tracks from the rover’s first drive. It also shows an area that was scoured clean by the craft’s descent stage rockets — the lighter-colored area shown near the center-top. Testing done at AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing ensured the landing craft’s protective coating would survive being blasted by that debris. (Photo courtesy of NASA)