A rover launching into space Thursday was built in part by a Stony Brook University professor.

Joel Hurowitz is part of the team that built an instrument for the Mars rover "Perseverance."

The piece Hurowitz worked on is called the "Pixel," which is attached to the arm of the rover that will study the surface of Mars and look for signs of life.

"We can basically reconstruct what the environment those rocks formed in was like billions of years ago. And we can also start asking questions about whether there is any sign of fossilized microbial life in those rocks or whether microbial life played some role in the composition of those rocks," says Hurowitz.

The rover is expected to land on Mars in mid-February.

Scientists will spend at least two years using the rover to study the surface of the planet.