Thursday 30 July - NASA-JPL Mars Rover Perseverance is on the launch pad

The Atlas V on Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. The large cone at the top houses Perseverance. (Courtesy NASA)

United Launch Alliance's Atlas V booster carrying NASA-JPL's Mars 2020 Rover, Perseverance, is due to launch from Pad 41at 7.30 am EDL (12.50 pm our time) today. Live broadcast begins 12 noon our time. Although I'm aboard in name only, I'm just (but not quite) as excited as if I were personally about to journey the 313,649,586 miles to Mars.