Today, February 18, 2021, the world was watching as NASA landed their Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars. That was only the beginning. The true mission has just begun as Perseverance will start to traverse the terrain and gather information about potential life that would have been present on the Red Planet.
How it Started
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Mission began on July 30, 2020 when it launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Since then, the rover has traveled roughly 293 million miles for its trip to arrive at the “Red Planet”.
How it’s Going
As the sedan-sized rover entered the Martian atmosphere, NASA described its descent as “seven minutes of hell”. Autonomously dodging large obstacles and avoiding mountainous terrain to successfully choose a landing spot the rover identified as safe.
The Mission
The main goal of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is to scour the land and look for ancient signs of life. Today, we know Mars as a frozen desert. However, previous expeditions, like the rover Curiosity mission, have already identified that warmer wet climates used to be prevalent on the Martian surface. If a warmer climate existed with water present and there was life on Mars, then much like on earth, living organisms would base themselves around bodies of water. That is the primary reason why the Jezero Crater was chosen as the landing site for the rover. The Jezero Crater was an area where an ancient river delta once occupied and filled the crater with a lake. This makes it an ideal candidate for exploration in the search for identifying ancient microorganisms that scientists believe could be fossilized in the region.
The Tech
The Perseverance rover is equipped with a plethora of next level technology. Here are a few that make the most impact:
Mastcam-Z, SuperCam, PIXL, SHERLOC and WATSON: These cameras, with the help of X-ray and UV laser technology, allow the rover to take detailed and high-resolution imagery of the planets surface. They also will allow the rover to analyze mineral and chemical compositions of the terrain and feed that data back to scientists.
MEDA: Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer – This will allow the rover to be aware of its surroundings in regard to temperature, wind speed, pressure, humidity, and even the size of dust particles in the “air”.
RIMFAX: is a subsurface radar device that will penetrate the ground and allow scientists to see geological structures beneath the surface.
MOXIE: an experimental technology that will attempt to produce oxygen utilizing Mars’ carbon dioxide present in its atmosphere. This is one of the most exciting aspects as this helps set the stage for human exploration to the planet as the use of natural resources found on the Red Planet will be critical.
Lastly, Perseverance is equipped with a sophisticated auto pilot system that will allow the rover to travel at higher speeds and to more distances than previously capable as it will constantly self-analyze the terrain and make real time adjustments as needed.
What’s Next
The idea is that Perseverance will spend at least 668 sols on Mars (1 Mars year or roughly 2 Earth years). And during that time, the rover will explore the 28 mile crater while taking photos. The rover will also collect and store valuable rock and soil samples that have the potential to later be returned to earth in future NASA missions. Perseverance has already sent several images of the Martian surface back to earth via a complex setup of satellites and receivers. Now all we have to do is patiently wait and check in with NASA as Perseverance embarks on its Mars exploration vacation.
