Unprecedented audio Dio recordings taken by NASA’s Perseverance Rover take us to the surface of the Red Planet, allowing us to hear the sound of gentle alien winds, and the click-click of lasers wrapping Mercury rock.
We are exactly three weeks into the diligence mission, so there are still early days. Is the project During the deployment phase, the Mars 2020 team is systematically deploying each of the rover’s devices to ensure they are functioning and configuring properly for the science phase of the mission. It will take two years in a row and Jezero to explore the pit, so there is no need to rush with things.
The team recently named the rover appropriately Supercam, In the initial demonstration of the enormous potential of the instrument. Attached to the rover’s mast, 12-pound (5.4.)–Kilograms) SuperCam can perform five different types of geographic analysis, which will allow the team to select the best rocks for sampling.
This research is important not only from a geological point of view, but also from an astrobiological point of view. The rocks in the Jezero pit – a former lake – may contain fossils or other biomakers that indicate microbial life. While running is the main goal Curiosity Mission Once upon a time it was to determine whether Mars was habitable (apparently) Was), The Perseverance Rover is indeed looking for evidence of ancient aliens (to be clear, living is different from living; Mars may once stimulate conditions for life, but that doesn’t mean that life actually landed on the red planet).
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The supercam instrument was developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory Consortium of French Labs in New Mexico and led by Center National d’Addates. Supercam’s first data packet was recently received at the French Space Agency’s control center in Toulouse. According to In a NASA statement. Newly released supercam images show a pair of rocks, a dub of Yehogo and Mazaz in excellent detail.
“It’s amazing to see Supercam work so well on Mars,” said Roger Wines, the supercar’s chief investigator, in a statement. “When we first dreamed of this tool eight years ago, we were worried that we were too ambitious. Now it works like a charm there. “
It is also unique in that it is capable of recording sound on Mars. NASA has provided three different audio dio samples, including the first sound recording of laser shots on Mars, and the sound of Martian winds.
Drata recorded laser sounds at a distance of 10 feet (3.1 m) from the target rock. The clicking sound produced by the laser pulses varies, with scientists being able to predict different physical characteristics of the target, such as hardness.
Thomas Zurbuch, associate administrator of science at NASA H, explained, “Supercam really gives rover eyes hope for optimistic rock samples and ears to hear what it feels like when lasers hit them.”Washington, D.C., Washington In the statement. “This information will become essential when it comes to what specimens to start and eventually return to Earth through our underground Mars sample return campaign, which will be a highly ambitious feat carried out by humanity.”
This Future missions Zarbuchen is referring to it as being absolutely historic, as samples cached by Perseverance will present an analysis of Martian objects before returning to Earth.
The Mars 2020 team also rolled out and retrieved data from Rover’s visible and infrared Sensor, one of the supercham sensors. This instrument reflects sunlight, exposing the mineral content of rocks and silt.
Supercam ‘O Raman spectrometer The data is also generating, an achievement that now represents for the first time that spectroscopy has taken place somewhere other than Earth, Ol Levier Bisak, CNRS Director of Mineral Gygi, Materials Physics and Cosmochemistry in Paris, said in a NASA statement. Raman spectroscopy works on a rock-like target object, typically by shooting a green laser beam-light. This non-destructive technique shows how light interacts with chemical bonds in the target, providing information about the chemical structure of the object, the internal stress level, and other information.
“Raman spectroscopy will play a crucial role in gaining a deeper understanding of the geological conditions they have created and in characterizing minerals to detect potential organic and mineral molecules formed by living organisms,” Bessack said.
Looking ahead, Mars 2020 will continue to test Team Rover’s driving abilities (it already is Surrounded 21.3 feet [6.5 meters]), And select the airfield from where to deploy the ingenuity helicopter.
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