NASA is preparing to land its Perseverance rover on Mars this Thursday (Feb. 18), and as the robot makes a harrowing descent through the Red Planet’s atmosphere, you can kick back and watch the action online with a special treat.
To mark the occasion, Krispy Kreme will offer on Thursday an extremely limited-edition donut that resembles the rover's destination — Mars. Aptly named the "Mars Doughnut," the cosmic creation is filled with chocolate creme and dipped in caramel icing that's been dyed to look like the red planet.
Perseverance launched in July and is now just a day away from landing on Mars. The SUV-sized rover will touch down on an ancient lake bed inside Jezero Crater, where it will hunt for signs of past Mars life while also caching samples for return to Earth on later missions.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing: Everything you need to know
In addition to its suite of science instruments and cameras, the rover is also flying the names of 11 million people from around the globe, who signed up via NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" program. And Krispy Kreme has a special promotion in store for those folks: Free doughnuts!
That's right: If you bring in your boarding pass on Thursday, Krispy Kreme will give you one free Mars Doughnut. How sweet is that?
According to Krispy Kreme's website, you can find the delectable donut at select locations across the United State and Canada. The galactic treat is available for preorders as well as same-day pickups on Thursday only.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
