Following a seven-month-long journey, NASA’s Perseverance Rover has successfully touched the ground of Mars. This significant achievement forms one of the key aspects of the Mars 2020 mission, bringing us closer to unraveling the mysteries of the Red Planet.
Mission Overview and Objectives
The primary aim of this mission is to delve deeper into understanding Mars’s geology and investigate any signs of ancient life. The project endeavors to evaluate the habitability of the planet in ancient times and leverage technology for potential future human and robotic exploration. The mission duration spans a minimum of one Mars year (about 687 Earth days).
The mission outlines four steps. Firstly, the collection of rock and soil samples held within cigar-sized tubes will be carried out by the Perseverance Rover. Secondly, a Mars Fetch Rover, provided by the European Space Agency, will land, drive across the Martian landscape, collect all samples from various points, and return them to the lander. The collected samples will then be transferred to the Mars Ascent Vehicle to rendezvous with an Orbiter. The last stage involves the Orbiter ferrying back the samples to Earth.
Unveiling the Perseverance Rover
Perseverance is a high-tech, sophisticated mobile laboratory and the most expensive equipment ever sent to Mars. Launched on July 30, 2020, and landing on February 18, 2021, it notably differs from previous Mars machines due to its fine-tuned drilling capacity. Plus, the Rover is equipped with a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator that converts heat from plutonium’s natural decay into electricity.
Located at the Jezero Crater, an ancient river delta reputed for its water-forming rocks and minerals, Perseverance carries seven instruments, two microphones, and 23 cameras. These tools will conduct novel science and test new technology on Mars.
Distinguishing Features of the Rover’s Instruments
Ranging from creating breathable oxygen utilizing Martian carbon dioxide to mapping out mineralogy and organic compounds, the array of instruments, including MOXIE, RIMFAX, the Mars Helicopter, Mastcam-Z, SuperCam, PIXL, SHERLOC, and MEDA, boast unique capacities for expansion and exploration. These tools are crucial in the successful surveying and sampling across Mars’s terrain.
Surprisingly, Mars shares similarities with Earth, such as its size, axis of rotation, orbital period, and seasons’ duration while differing in crucial aspects like surface composition and atmosphere.
Mars: Unraveling the Red Planet
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is second smallest in the Solar System and approximately half the size of Earth. Its surface is colored brown, gold, and tan, giving it an overall reddish appearance caused by the oxidation or rusting of iron within its rocks and dust. Mars is known as the “Red Planet” and features Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system.
Mars has an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon gases. However, unlike Earth, it lacks a magnetic field, with only traces of a magnetic field present in the southern hemisphere’s crust. Mars is orbited by two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, thought to be captured asteroids.
Previous Missions to Mars
The Soviet Union led the way with Mars 3 in 1971, followed by the United States, which has achieved eight successful Mars landings since 1976, the most recent being the ‘InSight’ mission in 2019. The European Space Agency has also reached Mars’s orbit through the Mars Express Mission.
Adding to the list, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in November 2013 with the goal of studying the Martian surface, mineral composition as well as scanning its atmosphere for methane.
Why the Frequent Missions to Mars?
Two primary factors motivate these exploratory missions. Firstly, the early conditions on Mars around 4 billion years ago were strikingly similar to Earth. With a thick atmosphere and stable water presence, the possibility of microscopic life evolving on Mars is being investigated.
Secondly, among other planets, Mars displays the most hospitable conditions for human visitation or long-term habitation. The relatively mild temperatures, coupled with its rocky, non-gaseous structure, make Mars an ideal candidate for future space exploration and potential colonization.
