Science is Fun Fridays!

Following up on yesterday's space post and the landing of the Mars rover, we're going to focus on Perseverance today.


This is the first image sent back from its landing location in the Jezero Crater.

Interactive Map

Main Job: To seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and soil.


3D Rover

Perseverance carries seven instruments to conduct "unprecedented science."

Mastcam-Z for panoramic and stereoscopic imaging.
SuperCam can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy from a distance.
Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithoscopy (PIXL) which can map the fine-scale elemental composition of the Martian surface materials.
Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) which uses UV to map mineralogy and organic compounds.
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), a technology demonstration that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors which will measure temperature, windspeed and direction, pressure, humidity, dust size and shape.
Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) is a ground penetrating radar to detect the geologic structure of the subsurface.

The spacecraft Mars 2020 used Terrain Relative Navigation, an autonomous vision-based system, which allowed it to navigate the terrain and modify its descent to land the rover safely.  


The pups are on Mars!!!

Photo Booth


NASA

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