CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It’s three days and counting until NASA's Mars 2020 rover heads to the Red Planet.

What You Need To Know

  • Mars 2020 rover called Perseverance set to launch on July 30

  • Goal of mission to work toward figuring out if there was ever life on Mars

  • Team installed plate on rover to honor front-line workers amid COVID-19

  • Get more space coverage here

On Monday, the team's Launch Readiness Review gave the “go” for liftoff.

The rover, called Perseverance, will work towards answering an age-old question: Was there ever life on Mars?

After landing in an ancient lake bed, the mission includes finding out if life ever existed on the planet, studying its climate and geology, and prepping for human exploration by testing oxygen levels in the atmosphere.

The rover's goal is to drill and collect core samples of promising rocks and soil, preserving them for return trips to Earth.

"We are going to cache samples on the surface of another world for a future mission in 2026 — to bring those samples back to Earth," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein. "It will be the first time in human history that we have done a Mars ‘return’ mission."

This year has been tough on the rover team as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic. They wanted to recognize those on the front lines, which Matt Wallace, JPL Deputy Project Manager, said includes “first responders, nurses, doctors, medical community facing life or death situations.”

A special COVID-19 plate was installed on Perseverance. It depicts the spacecraft leaving Earth, heading to Mars. It also shows the support of the rod and serpent of the medical community.

"(It’s) really inspired our team to keep going," Wallace said.

Another plate holds three microfiche containing the 11 million names from NASA's “Send Your Name to Mars” boarding pass campaign.​

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket hauling the Mars 2020 rover is set to blast off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on July 30 at 7:50 a.m.​ There is a two-hour launch window.

If all goes well, the rover will arrive at Mars on February 18, 2021.