Fuel and oxidizer and the vehicle's "brains"; fires twice, once to insert the vehicle-spacecraft stack into low Earth orbit and then again to accelerate the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way towards Mars.
Download full image ›

Stage 2: Centaur

Fuel and oxidizer and the vehicle's "brains"; fires twice, once to insert the vehicle-spacecraft stack into low Earth orbit and then again to accelerate the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way towards Mars.

Two interstage adaptors connect the first stage of the Atlas with its Centaur upper stage. The Centaur's has a restartable RL-10 engine from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. This engine uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and can provide up to about 22,300 pounds (99,200) of thrust. The Centaur can control its orientation precisely, which is important for managing the direction of thrust while its engine is firing. It carries its own flight control computer and can release its payload with the desired attitude and spin rate.

Atlas V-541 Centaur from NASA’s Mars 2020 mission

The single-engine Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is being transported to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 10, 2020.

Mars 2020 Centaur Upper Stage Arrives at KSC

United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Centaur upper stage atop the Atlas V rocket that will launch NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover for the Mars 2020 mission.

Off-site Vertical Integration

A close-up view of the single-engine Centaur upper stage for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover as it is being lifted up into the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 10, 2020.

Mars 2020 Centaur Lift and Mate