Local NewsNational

Actions

NASA engineer encodes Mars rover parachute with secret message

Posted
and last updated

When Perseverance landed on Mars, it brought a secret message with it.

A NASA engineer encoded it on the rover's 70-foot parachute.

Ian Clark used binary code to spell out "dare mighty things."

He also included the GPS coordinates for the mission's headquarters in Pasadena, California.

Clark says only about six people knew about the message before last week's landing.

But once images came back of the parachute it didn't take long for space fans to figure it out.