POTSDAM -- When the Mars rover Perseverance roared into the skies above Cape Canaveral recently, headed for the Red Planet, the launch had a personal tone for at least two SUNY Potsdam alumni -- one with his hands on remote controls and the other laying down the beat.

Daniel Krysak has been deeply involved in developing the scientific instruments aboard the rover, soaring now toward Mars aboard the Atlas V 541 rocket. His job includes operating cameras on the rover and monitoring the safety of equipment once the Perseverance lands next February.

"It was a great launch!" Krysek said. "My role on the 2020 mission will be operations on the WATSON and Mastcam-Z cameras. We've been in the development phase for a while now, so getting to see the launch this morning really puts it into perspective that we'll be working on operations in the not-too-distant future now!"

The rover is equipped to study a lake and river delta site on Mars, which may have contained life during a wetter period 3.5 billion years ago. In search of clues to past microbial life, Perseverance is equipped with new zoom cameras and spectroscopy equipment mounted on the end of a robotic arm for extreme close-ups of the surface.

The rover will be the first to gather rock and soil samples for their retrieval to Earth -- and it'll have some help from the Ingenuity helicopter, which will scout targets and help plan the rover's route over ground.

The expedition is also carrying a plaque in honor of the world's healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music alumna Stacey Fox is celebrating the launch with the release of her new children's album, titled "Songs of Mars."

The album, released by Reynardine Studios, is a catchy, educational romp through the red dust. It lends music to Martian dust storms, rovers, craters, solar storms and more. Fox, a musician and composer who is also a professor in the Michigan State University School of Journalism, said the songs are great for students, teachers, homeschoolers, planetariums, sing alongs, STEM learning, space enthusiasts and overall listening.

"Being an artist who is also a total space geek since childhood, astrophotographer and educator, my hope for the album is that the songs empower young people to learn about traveling to Mars while also providing teachers, parents and others a fun and engaging way of learning science through songs," Fox said.