Team India suitable for bowling on Mars? Wasim Jaffer's comical take at NASA rover landing

As NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on Friday morning, former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer took a comical swipe at the ambitious and historic mission, predicting the possibility of cricket being played on Planet Red. Sharing pictures of Mars, Jaffer reviewed the surface of the planet and sarcastically remarked that it looks 'dry' and would be 'conducive for spin'. Known for his witty tweets, the former India opener, added that India's spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would be 'unplayable' on Mars. 

Mentioning India's pace batter comprising of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj, Jaffer said that the pacer will cause 'havoc' on Mars with the reverse swing as the ball would get 'scuffed up' after three overs. 

"Team India's bowling attack suitable for all conditions," Wasim Jaffer concluded. 

READ | NASA Shares Images Of Red Planet To Celebrate Perseverance Rover's Landing On Mars 

NASA's Perseverance Lands On Mars

NASA’s perseverance on February 18 made a historic touchdown on Mars’ surface at 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST). The explorer landed safely following ‘7 minutes of terror’ as dubbed by NASA, following which, JPL made an official announcement in its mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. NASA’s 2,263-pound (1,026-kilogram) robotic vehicle descended on the western edge of Isidis. 

READ | 'Proud To Be Part', NASA Director Mike Watkins On Perseverance's Successful Mars Landing

The explorer which hit the landing site - Jezero Crater - will begin its mission to search signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples of rock and regolith, broken rock and soil, for its separate return mission to Earth. The rover will look for life around the 45 kilometres-wide crater. The mission aims to bring back samples to Earth for further analysis because of more sophisticated labs here. The probe was launched on July 30 during the crucial small window that opened for launch to Mars last year. 

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Reacting to the successful touchdown, NASA Director Mike Watkins said that there is something 'magical' about the first few days at NASA. "But there is something special about the first few days because we have just landed a representative of the planet Earth on a place on Mars that no one has ever been to, no one has ever seen it, except the orbital imagery from the few hundred miles above Mars. I believe that magical sense that we bring is a lot of the reason that JPL and NASA exist. I and everyone in the lab are very proud to be part of that," he said.

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