Seven months after its launch in July 2020, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. The Rover, expected to reside on Mars for at least a year, is a landmark achievement for NASA scientists.
The Rover will be used to collect data about the habitability of Mars, signs of ancient life, and the mission may even mark the first powered flight on the Red Planet, pending the success of the Mars Helicopter which is strapped to the underside of the rover.
Perseverance has four science objectives which align with the goals of the Mars Exploration Program, including preparing for human exploration and discovering if there was life on Mars. The latter of these goals will be achieved through the caching of rock samples, achievable through the drilling technology installed within the Rover.
Upon its landing in February, Perseverance touched down in Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake. It is due to its history as a lake that scientists chose it as a landing and surveillance zone as it is speculated to contain preserved sedimentary rock of over 3.5 billion years of age. As such, the analysis of this rock would allow monumental insights into the composition of the atmosphere and minerals from this time, acting as biosignatures for the existence of ancient life on Mars.
“Upon the occasion of safe return, the Perseverance mission would mark the first time scientists have been able to analyse Martian rocks on Earth.”
With advanced technology that allows the drilling and secure storage of samples, the Rover will be able to store the mineral extractions, with the goal of a pick-up from a future Mars mission within ten years. Upon the occasion of safe return, the Perseverance mission would mark the first time scientists have been able to analyse Martian rocks on Earth.
“I kind of felt a five-year-old’s excitement in terms of what discoveries this mission might bring”.
Professor Nicholas Tosca, from the University of Cambridge, was the only UK scientist chosen for NASA’s core science team. On being one of the first scientists with the chance to analyse Martian rocks, he said, “the fact that we may actually see these samples and study them, in my own lifetime, is just mind-blowing. When I told my son about it, I think we pretty much both had the same reaction. I kind of felt a five-year-old’s excitement in terms of what discoveries this mission might bring, and just that raw curiosity and interest in other worlds that most of us had when we were that age.”
Following 14 sols spent on the surface of Mars, the Rover has captured over 7000 images, maintaining regular transmission with operators on Earth. And whilst its time on the surface continues, the Mars Helicopter ‘Ingenuity’ remains inside the ‘belly’ of the Rover. The Helicopter, if deployed successfully, will mark the first test of powered flight on another planet. However, it must first be detached from the Rover, and charge using built-in solar panels before achieving flight in the incredibly thin Martian atmosphere.
Perseverance is not the only exciting Mars mission taking place in 2021, with the UAEs Hope Probe reaching Mars orbit earlier in the year. The Hope Probe is tasked with analysing the climate, atmosphere, and weather of the Red Planet, and marks the first time an Arab country has established a presence at Earth’s planetary neighbour.
With two countries already launching successful missions on the planet, 2021 certainly looks set to be a very exciting year for the exploration of Mars.
Matilda Head
Featured image courtesy of Pixabay. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.