Present Vs Past (simple tenses) MARS LANDING

Mars landing: NASA's Perseverance rover [blank_start]sends[blank_end] back first pictures from Red Planet after successful landing. (Pr/ Send)

It [blank_start]took[blank_end] more than 11 minutes for news of the safe landing to arrive on Earth. (Pas./ Take)

The historic moment [blank_start]was[blank_end] the culmination of a seven-month journey in space and a considerably shorter trip through the Martian atmosphere. (Pas./ To be)

Claps and cheers erupted from the NASA control room in Pasadena, California as news of the safe landing [blank_start]reached[blank_end] Earth just before 1pm local time (9pm UK). (Pas./ To reach)

Ground controllers wearing masks [blank_start]jumped[blank_end] up from their seats after hearing the words "Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars" from flight controller Swati Mohan following an agonising wait. (Pas./ To jump)

Perilous was the word chosen to describe the seven minutes between the car-sized Perseverance rover entering the atmosphere and reaching the ground - but it [blank_start]managed[blank_end] to safely touch down. (Pas./ To manage)

Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator, [blank_start]said[blank_end] in the moments after: "It's amazing to have Perseverance join curiosity on Mars and what a credit to the team. (Pas./ To say)

"Just what an amazing team to work through all the adversity and all the challenges that [blank_start]go[blank_end] with landing a rover on Mars, plus the challenges of COVID. And just an amazing accomplishment." ((Pr./ To go))

The success will mean relief for NASA managers, especially considering the $2.7bn (£1.9bn) price tag - most of which was already [blank_start]spent[blank_end] on research and development. ((Pas./ To spend))

However, the hard work for the scientists [blank_start]begins[blank_end] now. ((Pre./ To begin))

Perseverance [blank_start]touched[blank_end] down safely in an ancient river delta and former lake on the Martian surface known as the Jezero Crater. Here it will drill deep down into the sediment of where an ancient river once flowed, collecting material that may hold signs of life. ((Pas./ To touch))

The Jezero Crater is full of obstacles and dangers to the rover, including boulders, cliffs, sand dunes and depressions, any one of which could end the mission, as the rover [blank_start]drives[blank_end] along the surface. ((Pre./ To drive))

But the deposits in the crater [blank_start]are[blank_end] rich in clay minerals, which form in the presence of water, meaning life may have once existed there - and such sediments on Earth have been known to store microscopic fossils. ((Pre./ To be))

Scientists have also noted that the crater doesn't [blank_start]have[blank_end] a depth which matches its diameter, which means sediment likely entered the crater through flowing water - potentially up to a kilometre of it. ((Pre./ To have))

The carefully selected samples of Martian rock and soil won't be analysed immediately though, but sealed in tubes and [blank_start]left[blank_end] in a well-identified place, or more than one spot, on the surface of Mars for a future mission to collect. ((Pas./ To leave))

"Detailed maps will be provided for any future mission that might go to Mars and pick up these samples for study by scientists," [blank_start]explained[blank_end] NASA. ((Pas./ To explain))

Perseverance is also equipped with a miniature helicopter named Ingenuity, which [blank_start]weighs[blank_end] just 4lb (1.8kg) and will be the first rotorcraft to fly on another planet, although that test mission isn't due until a while after the landing. ((Pre./ To weigh))

The little chopper [blank_start]underwent[blank_end] a series of drills simulating the mission in a testing facility in California, including a high-vibration environment to mimic how it will hold up under the launch and landing conditions, and extreme temperature swings such as those experienced on Mars. ((Pas./ To undergo))