NASA celebrates the launch of its most advanced Mars rover always today (July 30), even when engineers tackle a glitch that left the spacecraft in a protective “safe mode” shortly after takeoff.
Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launched towards the Red Planet at 7:50 am EDT (1150 GMT), riding an Atlas V rocket in space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rover experienced minor communications and temperature problems after launch, but the problems are not expected to harm the mission overall, NASA officials said.
“Was a incredible launchjust in time, “said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine during a post-launch press conference.” I think we are in good shape. It was a great day for NASA. “
Live updates: The Perseverance launch of the NASA rover Mars in real time!
Shortly after the conference, NASA confirmed that perseverance went into “safe mode” due to an unexpected temperature difference.
“The data indicates that the spacecraft had entered a state known as safe mode, likely because part of the spacecraft was slightly cooler than expected while Mars 2020 was in the shadow of Earth,” said officials from the NASA in a statement. “All temperatures are now nominal and the spacecraft is out of Earth’s shadow.”
Related: NASA Perseverance Rover from Mars to the Red Planet (photos)
Post-launch hiccup
During today’s post-launch press conference, the team received news that an issue, a persistent communication issue, had been fixed. In the first hours after launch, although mission personnel were able to pick up the signal the spacecraft was sending home, it was not being processed properly.
However, that situation did not cause much concern, Matt Wallace, deputy director of projects for Mars 2020 with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California said during the briefing. The lack of communication was caused by the fact that NASA relies on a system called the Deep Space Network to communicate with Perseverance even shortly after launch, when the spacecraft is not yet that deep in space.
And because he Deep space network Consisting of massive antennas equipped with super sensitive receivers, the signal from a spacecraft so close to the network can end up exploding the system, as if someone were screaming directly into your ear. Engineers needed to adjust the network settings to actually process the information coming from the spacecraft.
“Just as the administrator was speaking, I received a text message that we could lock into that telemetry,” Wallace said. “All the indications we have, and we have enough, are that the spacecraft is fine.”
NASA Rover Curiosity faced a similar problem during its launch in 2011, Wallace said. “It’s something we’ve seen before with other missions to Mars,” Bridenstine said. “This is not unusual. Everything is going according to plan.”
The mission team revealed a second problem after launch shortly afterwards at the press conference: Perseverance went into safe mode.
When the spacecraft cooled a bit more than expected as it passed through Earth’s shadow, it automatically put itself in that state, according to the NASA statement, though the spacecraft’s temperature recovered quickly and is of no concern. to the team.
Wallace emphasized that such a state should not harm the mission as a whole. Safe mode is, as the name implies, designed to be safe for the spacecraft at this time.
“The spacecraft is happy there,” said Wallace. “The team is working through that telemetry, they’re going to see the rest of the spacecraft’s health. So far, everything I’ve seen is looking good.”
Perseverance is slated to fly straight and steady for at least the next two weeks, he said, so the team has time for the spacecraft to return to normal operating mode before first necessary path adjustment of your trip.
A wonderful launch
The launch itself went smoothly, with an unusually quiet countdown in the mission’s control rooms, despite an earthquake that rocked Southern California, including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, some 20 minutes earlier. that the rocket fired in Florida.
Today’s takeoff marked a major victory for the agency, which was concerned that the measures imposed to reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic it could delay launch preparations long enough for Perseverance to lose its three-week window to a launch, depending on orbital trajectories.
Another comparable opportunity would not return until 2022; If that 26-month delay had occurred, it would have cost the agency an additional $ 500 million, according to Bridenstine, in addition to an already difficult mission.
“[It was] adversity along the way, but this is true for any project of this nature, “Bridenstine said of the struggles before the pandemic, which included a broken heat shield and the late addition of a complicated helicopter ride. “Then you put the coronavirus on top … I’m not going to lie, it’s a challenge. It’s very stressful. But look, the teams made it possible.”
But, despite previous delays that pushed the launch more than a week into its window, the spacecraft took off during its first shot from its first countdown.
“It was really a team effort. And in each case, everyone stood up and said, ‘Yes, we want to do what we can to help,'” said Lori Glaze, director of the agency’s planetary science division. “Somehow, we managed to get through this.”
Now, the spacecraft and its human team back on Earth must go through a seven-month journey in deep space to reach the Red Planet. Once the spacecraft reaches Mars, it will undergo the notoriously dangerous process entrance, descent and landing.
That process will take place on February 18, 2021.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
