JarautaSpace (EN) - Mars 2020 Rover Perservearance

Mars 2020 Rover Perservearance

The Mission

This is a mission developed by NASA, manufactured at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California). It carries 23 scientific instruments and 23 cameras and its purpose is to search for signs of past life on Mars, in addition to selecting samples from Mars for later collection and return to Earth. The rover also includes a helicopter that will help you choose the best way to get to the proposed sites and demonstrate that it is possible to perform jet propulsion flight on Mars.

The mission began development in 2012 and is the successor to the similar "Curiosity" rover. The mission's goals are to determine whether there was previous life on Mars, research the climate and geology of Mars, and prepare for the next human exploration of the planet.

Launch

The Launch is estimated for July 30th 2020 at 1:50pm (Spain). It will be held from SLC-41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. An Atlas V 541 rocket will be used.

It will take about 6 months to reach Mars, where it will perform maneuvers to reduce speed and penetrate the atmosphere and then land.

The landing on Mars is estimated for February 18, 2021. It will be fully automated because the signal between the two planets takes about 13-20 minutes. On Earth, the antennas of the Deep Space Network (California, Madrid, Australia) will be used to receive the information. For the landing we will first enter and reduce speed with a heat shield, then with a parachute and finally with a powered flight that will leave the rover on the surface.

Timeline

2012: Start of rover design announced

2014: Instruments on the rover are decided

2016: Development and construction of the parts begins

2018: Helicopter added to the mission

October 2018: the new

November 2019: Jezero Crater is decided as the landing site

Spring 2019: Rover parts assembly begins

Summer 2019: Assembly of rocket parts begins

February 2020: The Rover is shipped to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US

June 2020: The last tests of the rover systems are performed

July 2020: the Rover is introduced in the Rocket

July-August 2020: The period for the launch of the rover opens.

18 February 2021: the rover lands on Mars

Data

Weight: 1050kg

Rover dimensions: 3x2.7x2.2 meters

Energy production: Through 4.8 kg of decaying Plutonium Dioxide whose heat is transformed into energy

Minimum life expectancy: One Martian year (two Earth years)

Mission cost: $2,460,000,000

Experiments

Mastcam-Z: Panoramic camera with the ability to take stereoscopic pictures and analyze the minerals on the surface of Mars.

SuperCam: Instrument that provides image

RimFax: Radar that penetrates into the surface of the planet to study the interior geological structure of Mars with centimeter accuracy.

MEDA: Sensors that measure temperature, wind, direction, pressure, humidity, size and shape of the dust on the surface of Mars. Carried out in Spain by the Centre for Astrobiology, INTA.

MOXIE: Experiment to produce oxygen on the surface of the planet. through carbon dioxide

SHERLOC: Spectrometer that performs images through an ultraviolet laser to determine minearology and detect organic components.

PIXL: X-ray spectrometer that will also contain a camera for the analysis of the elemental composition of the surface of Mars.

Ingenuity: helicopter with a weight of 1.8kg and 1.2m in diameter whose purpose is to demonstrate that it is possible to carry out propelled flight on Mars, despite the fact that the Martian atmosphere is 1% compared to that of the Earth.

Rocket

The Atlas 5 is a rocket built by ULA with a height of 58.3 meters and a diameter of 3.81 meters. It has 2 phases and can carry up to 20,520kg to a low orbit. It was first launched on August 21, 2002 and has been launched 16 times, having only 1 partial failure (93.75%). In this case the rocket will have 4 external solid propellants and 1 engine in the second phase of the rocket.

For more information on the rocket, visit ULA

Landing Place

The landing site is planned as the Crateer Jezero, which has the characteristics of having been an ancient river delta on the Martian surface. We will be looking for samples that demonstrate previous life on Mars, so this is an exceptional place to look for them.