NASA's Perseverance rover is nearing Mars. Here's what you need to know about this newest Mars rover.
1. Perseverance will look for the signs of ancient life.
Today, Mars is nothing but a frozen desert.However, scientists have learned from previous NASA missions that the Red Planet was not always like that. It once hosted plenty of water and a warmer enivornment at the surface that could have supported at least the microbial form of life.
Katie Stack Morgan, the deputry project scientist at JPL said
"We want Perseverance to help us answer the next logical question: Are there actually signs of past microbial life on Mars?" .
To answer this question, Perseverance carries a new suite of cutting-edge science instruments: SHERLOC(Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) and PIXL(Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry). While SHERLOC can detect organic matter and minerals, PIXL will map the chemical composition of rocks and sediments. Perseverance is also equipped with Mastcam-Z's cameras that can zoom on rock textures from a long distance.
2. Perseverance is landing on a site with high potential for finding signs of past microbial life.
More than 3.5 billion years ago, a river there flowed into a body of water about the size of Lake Tahoe, depositing sediments in a fan shape known as a delta. The Perseverance science team believes this ancient river delta and lake deposits could have collected and preserved organic molecules and other potential signs of microbial life. Perseverance will exactly land in this area.
3.Perseverance will also collect data about Mars' climate and geology
In order to understand Mars' past climatic conditions, we need to have a better understanding of all those rocks which are now present on mars. It will help us to know what the planet was like in its distant past. This might also help us understand why Earth and Mars despite having early similarilities ended up so differently.
4.Through Perseverance, We are testing the instruments and technologies that will help us to do human missions to Mars and the Moon in future.
It has Terrain-Relative Navigation system to help the descending spacecraft to quickly comprehend its location and modify its trajectory. It also has self-driving smarts which will enable it to cover more ground on mars' soil as it will need fewer instructions from engineers on Earth.This technology will make the exploration of Mars and Moon and other celestial bodies much more efficient.
Additionally, Perseverance also carries a new technology experiment called MOXIE(Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) that will produce oxygen from Mars' carbon dioxide atmosphere. Its success will do wonders for human exploration as using it, We humans would be able to produce oxygen right in the martian atmosphere from carbon dioxide. We could use this oxygen for breathing as well as for rocket propellent. MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer) instrument suite provides information about weather, climate, and surface ultraviolet radiation and dust.
Perseverance is also giving a ride to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. A technology experiment separate from the rover's science mission, Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled aircraft flight at another world. If the helicopter is successful in its 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) demonstration window, the data could help future explorations of the Red Planet – including those by astronauts – by adding a new aerial dimension.
5.It has more cameras than any Interplanetary mission in our entire history
It has 19 cameras in the rover itself. It also has four cameras on other parts of the spacecraft involved in entry, descent, and landing. The best thing is, Mars 2020 Perseverance mission plans to make raw and processed images available on the mission's website. It means, the public will be able to experience everything in high-definition what it's like to land on Mars.
FAQs related to NASA's Perseverance rover
Perseverance, nicknamed Percy, is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was launched on 30 July 2020, at 7:50 a.m. EDT (11:50 UTC), and is scheduled to land on Mars on 18 February 2021, 3 p.m EST/8 p.m UTC.
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on Mars on 18th February 2021.
Perseverance Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.
