NASA is dangerously nearing the end of the Mars launch window – BGR

• After two previous delays that delayed the launch of NASA’s new Mars Rover Perseverance for several days, the launch has been delayed once again.
• The new launch date will not be before July 30, according to NASA.
• The launch window for a mission to Mars closes on August 15.

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Despite a global health crisis and many other obstacles that stand between NASA and the launch of the Mars 2020 mission, the space agency has remained confident that it will not be forced to delay the mission’s start until 2022. All seemed to be in order. order, meaning until about a month ago, when launch delays delayed it a couple of days, and then other days.

Now NASA is announcing the third delay for the launch, pushing it until July 30 at the earliest. The space agency issued a brief statement attributing this delay to problems with the launch vehicle, and says it is possible that the launch could be delayed further.

The previous two delays were attributed to ground crew problems and had nothing to do with the spacecraft or its payload, the Perseverance Mars rover and the Mars helicopter. This is a little different, as NASA explains:

Due to delays in launch vehicle processing in preparation for companion spacecraft operations, NASA and the United Launch Alliance have moved the first launch launch of the Mars 2020 mission no later than July 30. A line of liquid oxygen sensors presented non-nominal data during the Wet Dress Trial, and additional time is needed for the team to inspect and evaluate. Flight analysis teams have extended the mission’s launch opportunities until August 15 and are examining whether the launch period can be extended to August.

Just a few weeks ago, NASA presented its worst-case scenario for the Mars 2020 mission. The space agency said the mission deadline, which is believed to have been very early in August, was slightly more flexible and could be extended to 15 of August.

At the time, that extended launch window didn’t seem like it was necessary, as things had settled in well with just a couple of little bumps in the road. Now, however, it seems increasingly likely that NASA will need every inch of that launch window to avoid delaying the vehicle’s launch for years.

Due to the nature of planetary orbits, the opportunity to send a mission from Earth to Mars only occurs every two years or so, and if NASA misses its extended deadline, the space agency would be forced to wait at least until early 2022 to try again. Obviously, NASA does not want to see that happen, and is doing everything possible to prevent it.