Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
The Cambridge Dictionary Word of theYear (WOTY) is “perseverance” (without a capital “P”) although related to Perseverance (with a capital “P”), the robotic geologist-astrophysicists rover that landed on planet Mars, on February 18, 2021. Indeed, the selection was based on word search counts, which increased to 243,000 at the Cambridge Dictionary website, in 2021. A significant increase in visibility of the word, including a spike of 30,487 searches between Feb. 19th and 25th, 2021, corresponding to the extraordinary footage (below) of the Perseverance rover entry, descent and landing sequence (EDL), broadcasted from planet Mars, 300 million miles away, and edited for viewing during that timeframe.
Thus, whereas Perseverance the rover was named to capture triumph on the shoulders of the many who dared to stumble in the odyssey of Mars exploration, the term perseverance also undoubtedly took on heightened significance in 2021. A year where the will of the people also triumphed in the face of pandemic adversity, despite the more than 5 million lives lost to the SARS2- CoV19 (WHO Dashboards).
Crowned Word of the Year 2021, perseverance thus celebrates the human spirit under very different circumstances. The YouTube video included below captures the triumph of perseverance in space exploration with video footage of mesmerizing clarity, witnessing Perseverance’s EDL. In other words, entry into the Martian atmosphere at 12,500 mph, with a registered heat peak, measured at 2370 degrees Fahrenheit (1300 degrees Celsius) caused by massive speed deceleration to 1000 mph, using Martian atmosphere. The footage also shows the perfect orchestration of parachute deployment, separation of the heat shield and aeroshell protection, firing of the descent stage retro-rockets, and separation from the descent stage to touchdown.
Otherwise, on planet Earth, perseverance was certainly put to test everywhere.
NASA - Perseverance Mars Rover
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-perseverance-rover-22-days-from-mars-landing
Staff (Nov. 17, 2021) Cambridge Dictionary names 'perseverance' Word of the Year 2021. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/cambridge-dictionary-names-perseverance-word-of-the-year-2021
WHO - Coronavirus Dashboards https://covid19.who.int/
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