Launching
Perseverance has a narrow window to launch into Mars before the planet strays too far from Earth. Sometime before mid-August 2020, the rover will take off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near Orlando, Florida. It is currently slated to launch on July 30, weather permitting.
Perseverance will travel into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the same rocket that sent NASA’s InSight lander and Curiosity rover to Mars. After Perseverance reaches Earth’s orbit, a higher stage of the rocket will send the rover on the long cruise to Mars.
Cruise
Every time Perseverance is launched, it has a firm landing date of February 18, 2021 on Jezero Crater. She will spend the intervening months flying to Mars.
The cruise period is a crucial time for engineers to continue checking the rover (enclosed within a protective case) to ensure that all systems are ready to land. When Perseverance approaches Mars, the engineers will fire the projectile’s engines to put the rover in the correct position to land on the Red Planet. But making that final approach to Mars is only the first step in a complicated landing sequence.
Entry
You may recall the “Seven Minutes of Terror” sequence that NASA’s Curiosity rover went through in 2012 to get the heaviest rover launched to the surface of Mars.
Since entering the atmosphere, Curiosity had seven minutes to slow down from 13,000 miles per hour (20,000 km / h) when it hit the atmosphere, to 0 mph to reach the surface. Perseverance uses systems similar to Curiosity and will follow the same sequence, but with more advanced technology.
Upper atmosphere
Based on the Curiosity sequence, the first part of Perseverance’s landing will involve moving safely through the upper atmosphere of Mars.
The Perseverance heat shield will glow when it reaches temperatures of approximately 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,600 degrees Celsius). The thin atmosphere will reduce the vehicle’s speed to approximately 1,000 mph (1,600 km / h) before the system deploys a huge parachute.
Range trigger
Unlike Curiosity, Perseverance will use a “range trigger” to deploy the parachute based on the spacecraft’s position relative to its landing target, which could improve landing accuracy and reduce rover time to get there. to the correct research area in up to one Earth year.
Perseverance also has a more advanced version of the MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI) sensor that Curiosity brought to observe the properties of the atmosphere. MEDLI2 not only collects data from the heat shield (as Curiosity did), but also the back body of the spacecraft – that is, the part of the spacecraft behind the shield.
Terrain navigation
Like Curiosity, Perseverance will begin its descent to the surface, under a parachute, at approximately 200 miles per hour (322 km / h). Perseverance will roll out even more new technology to improve your chances of finding the right place.
The rover will use a new technique known as ground relative navigation to choose the correct landing point. It does this by comparing the earth under the rover with maps previously obtained from the Mars orbiters. If Perseverance sees dangerous terrain up to 985 feet (300 meters) in diameter, you can change direction and move to a safer area. This new technique allows Perseverance to land on difficult (and interesting) terrain with less risk to the rover.
Collecting data
Aboard Perseverance are even more landing cameras than Curiosity. Perseverance includes a “look-up camera” on the parachute, a “look-down” camera on the descent stage, a “look-up” camera on the phone, and a “look-down” camera on the mobile.
Along with a microphone, the cameras are considered “public participation charges” that allow people to virtually travel alongside the rover to the surface and watch the rover finish its final feet (or meters) of descent, according to NASA. The cameras also provide valuable data to improve the security of future landings on Mars.
Landing
Close to the ground, the rockets will fire to stabilize and slow Perseverance’s descent to the surface. However, the rockets cannot reach the surface, as an epic dust storm would be launched. So instead, just like with Curiosity in 2012, an “overhead crane” will drag Perseverance to the surface with 21-foot (6.4-meter) cables.
Once Perseverance lands, the aerial crane will release the cables and fly for a safe landing on the surface, far away from the scout vehicle.
Driving
Perseverance won’t hit the road right away, as researchers will want to make sure the rover is in good working order after landing. Routine checks will be done on your instruments, and the rover will also take some photos of your landing area so planners can point to the best sites to visit first.
Once perseverance sets in, its long-term goals are to find rocks formed or altered by environments that “could have supported microbial life in Mars’ ancient past,” according to NASA, or rocks that could have kept ancient. chemical traces of life. Some rocks will be drilled and cached for a future sample return mission to Earth. Perseverance will also attempt to produce oxygen from Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere, a technique that could be useful for future human missions.
Flying!
Perseverance will not just surface. Riding on its belly will be the Ingenuity helicopter, which will test fly on Mars and “explore” for future Red Planet explorers. Helicopters also have the advantage of flying over dangerous terrain inaccessible to rovers, such as steep hills or craters.
For test flights, the mobile team will search for an area about 33 feet by 33 feet (10 by 10 meters). Perseverance will deploy the helicopter and step back to watch Ingenuity activities from a remote soccer field. Operators will work for six ground days making sure Ingenuity is safe to fly. The helicopter will perform some test flights and is designed to last about 30 soles (Martian days).
