The largest robot rover, NASA’s largest spacecraft, was launched in March on Thursday, after a 203-day journey across 293 million miles (472 million kilometres). Confirmation of a successful touchdown was announced at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission in Southern California at 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 pm PST). Filled with landslide technology, the Mars 2020 missile launched on July 30, 2020, from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover mission marks the first step in the effort to collect Mars samples and return them to Earth.
Approximately the size of the rover, a 2,263 robotic geologist (1,026 pounds) and an astronomer will be examined a few weeks before we begin its two-year scientific investigation of Mars ’Jezero Crater. While the rover explores the rock and the plateau of the lakebed and the coastal river Jezero to reflect the geography and past climate, a fundamental part of its work is astrology, including the search for ancient biological signs. To that end, the Mars Sample Return campaign, organized by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), will allow scientists on Earth to study samples collected by Perseverance to search for precise signs of past life using the largest and most difficult instruments to send to the Red Planet.
Rover’s capability
Rover equipped with seven major scientific instruments, a large number of cameras sent to Mars, and its sophisticated sample storage system – the first of its kind sent into space – Persistence will head to the Jeros region to find fossils of ancient Martian life, taking samples along the way.
“Patience is the most complex robotic geologist ever made, but ensuring that the shortest life ever carries a heavy burden of evidence,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “While we’re going to learn a lot about the big instruments we have on the rover, it may require that laboratories and the best-performing instruments here on Earth tell us if our samples have any evidence that Mars ever saved life.”
“Arriving at Mars has always been an incredibly difficult task and we are proud to continue to build on our past success,” said JPL Director Michael Watkins. “However, while Perseverance is moving forward with that success, this rover is also burning its way and has new challenges in facial systems. We have not only made a rover to sit down but to find and collect the best scientific samples that will return to Earth, and its sophisticated and independent sampling system not only empowers that purpose, setting the stage for robotic and future machines. ”
Rover instruments
On the face of Mars, Perseverance’s scientific instruments will have the opportunity to shine scientifically. Mastcam-Z is a science camera that can zoom in on Per Perverver’s sensing remote, or head, which creates 3D color panoramas of high-altitude Martian landscapes. Located on a pillar, SuperCam uses a pulsed laser to study the chemical composition of rocks and sediments and has its own microscope to help scientists better understand stone materials, including their complexity.
Available on the turret at the end of the robot arm, the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) and Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) will work together to collect data on Mars’ geology is near. PIXL will use X-ray beam and a sensory suite to process elemental rock chemistry. Ultraviolet laser and spectrometer laser, along with its Operations and Engineer Wide Angle Topographic Sensor, will study rock formations, detect the presence of certain minerals and organic molecules, which are building materials made of carbon on Earth. .
The rover chassis is home to three scientific instruments, too.
Copyright article by Eco Astronomy
