Page 33 - EngineerIT September 2021

SPACE TECHNOLOGY

offering clues about the ancient Next stop, ‘South Séítah’
climate and habitability of Mars. Perseverance is currently searching the crater floor for samples that can be brought
Salt minerals are also well known back to Earth to answer profound questions about Mars’ history. Promising samples
on Earth for their ability to preserve are sealed in titanium tubes the rover carries in its chassis, where they’ll be stored until
signs of ancient life. Perseverance drops them to be retrieved by a future mission. Perseverance will likely
The Perseverance science team create multiple “depots” later in the mission, where it will drop off samples for a future
already knew a lake once filled the mission to bring to Earth. Having one or more depots increases the likelihood that
crater; for how long has been more especially valuable samples will be accessible for retrieval to Earth.
uncertain. The scientists couldn’t Perseverance’s next likely sample site is just 200 metres away in “South Séítah,” a
dismiss the possibility that Jezero’s series of ridges covered by sand dunes, boulders and rock shards that Farley likens to
lake was a “flash in the pan”: “broken dinner plates.”
floodwaters could have rapidly filled The rover’s recent drill sample represents what is likely one of the youngest rock
the impact crater and dried up in the layers that can be found on Jezero crater’s floor. South Séítah, on the other hand, is
space of 50 years, for example. likely older, and will provide the science team a better timeline to understand events that
But the level of alteration that shaped the crater floor, including its lake.
scientists see in the rock that provided By the start of October, all Mars missions will be standing down from commanding
the core samples – as well as in their spacecraft for several weeks, a protective measure during a period called Mars solar
the rock the team targeted on their conjunction. Perseverance isn’t likely to drill in South Séítah until sometime after that period.
first sample acquisition attempt –
suggests that groundwater was More about Perseverance
present for a long time. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search
This groundwater could have for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterise the planet’s geology and
been related to the lake that was once past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the red planet, and be the first
in Jezero, or it could have travelled mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith – broken rock and dust.
through the rocks long after the lake Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency),
had dried up. Though scientists still would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and
can’t say whether any of the water bring them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
that altered these rocks was present The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration
for tens of thousands or for millions approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human
of years, they feel more certain that it exploration of the red planet.
was there for long enough to make the JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and
area more welcoming to microscopic manages operations of the Perseverance rover. n
life in the past.
“These samples have high value Mars solar conjunction
for future laboratory analysis back
on Earth,” said Mitch Schulte of
NASA Headquarters, the mission’s The daily chatter between antennae here on Earth and those on NASA spacecraft at Mars is
programme scientist. “One day, we about to get much quieter for a few weeks. That’s because Mars and Earth will be on opposite
may be able to work out the sequence sides of the Sun, a period known as Mars solar conjunction. The Sun expels hot, ionised gas
and timing of the environmental from its corona, which extends far into space. During solar conjunction, this gas can interfere
conditions that this rock’s minerals with radio signals when engineers try to communicate with spacecraft on Mars, corrupting
represent. This will help answer the big commands and resulting in unexpected behaviour from deep space explorers.
picture science question of the history To be safe, engineers hold off on sending commands when Mars disappears far enough
and stability of liquid water on Mars.” behind the Sun’s corona that there’s increased risk of radio interference.

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