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Launched in July of last year, NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover is now just weeks away from completing the crucial first step of its mission: landing on the planet’s desolate rusty red surface. The project is one of the space agency’s most ambitious yet, as it is expected to help pave the way for future human expeditions to Mars.
The numbers involved in NASA’s mission almost defy understanding: The spacecraft carrying the rover has already traveled 80.03 million miles (128 million km).
This has involved the precious cargo of the spacecraft traveling through space at average speeds (relative to the Sun) of 51.739 mph (83.265km / h).
But the probe’s journey is fast approaching its destination, with ‘a mere’ 6.32 million miles (10.17 million km) remaining, as of Sunday, January 3.
In order to prepare the public for this historic moment in space exploration, NASA has created a interactive site where you can follow the progress of Perseverance in real time.
READ MORE: NASA News: Hubble Captures ‘Unprecedented Fade’ of Stingray Nebula
How will the Perseverance rover land on Mars?
The Perseverance rover mission will use the latest technology to maximize its chances of descending and landing successfully in Jezero Crater.
As with Perseverance’s precursor, the Curiosity rover, this latest probe will use a guided entry, descent and landing system.
This will make use of a parachute, a descent vehicle and an approach called an ‘aerial crane maneuver’ to lower the rover to the surface during the last seconds before landing.
NASA said: “This type of landing system provides the ability to land a very large and heavy rover on the surface of Mars in a more precise landing area than was possible before the Curiosity landing.
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“Mars 2020 takes things one step further. Add new entry, descent, and landing technologies, such as terrain-related navigation.
“This sophisticated navigation system allows the rover to detect and avoid dangerous terrain by drifting around it during its descent through the Martian atmosphere.
“A microphone allows engineers to analyze entry, descent and landing.
“It could also capture the sounds of the rover at work, which would provide engineers with clues about the status and operations of the rover, and it would be a pleasure to hear.”
What is the mission of NASA’s Perseverance rover?
The Perseverance rover has four science targets that support the science goals of the Mars Exploration Program.
These include searching for habitability, searching for biological signatures, caching samples, and preparing for humans.
A key function of the Perseverance Rover is to look for signs of ancient extraterrestrial microbial life.
The rover has been equipped with a drill to collect Martian soil and rock core samples.
These will then be sealed in tubes waiting to be collected by a future mission, which will then return them to Earth for detailed analysis.
NASA said in a statement: “Perseverance will also test technologies to help pave the way for future human exploration of Mars.
“Strapped to the belly of the rover for the trip to Mars is a technology demonstration: the Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, can achieve a ‘Wright Brothers moment’ by testing the first powered flight on the Red Planet.
“There are several ways the mission helps pave the way for future human expeditions to Mars and demonstrates technologies that can be used in those efforts.
“These include testing a method for producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, identifying other resources (such as groundwater), improving landing techniques, and characterizing weather, dust, and other potential environmental conditions that could affect future astronauts who live and work on Mars. “
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