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A few days ago the Mars rover NASA Perseverance deposited the first test tube containing a rock sample on the soil of the Red Planet. This is the backup strategy for the Mars Sample Return mission which will bring to Earth the rock and atmosphere samples taken in recent years since rover to be able to study them with the sophisticated tools found in laboratories (and which cannot be integrated into the rover).
The second sample deposited by the US rover
Self NASA and ESA they will not be beaten by China (which intends to carry out a similar operation) it will be the first time that samples will be taken from a planet other than Earth. Until now, however, it had only been possible with a satellite (the Moon, with human and robotic missions, the latest Chang’e-5 from China) and from asteroids as in the case of OSIRIS-REx or Hayabusa. The space agency has foreseen a double plane, with a main one and a backup one. Here are the latest news.
NASA Perseverance and the samples left on the soil of Mars
In the past few hours has been deposited on the soil of Mars a second sample containing a “carrot” of a sedimentary rock taken on the edge of the delta of the ancient river that filled the Jezero crater millions of years ago. The release from a height of approximately 88 cm was performed successfully with the titanium tube lying horizontally on the Martian terrain.
One of the most frequent questions that has been asked since the first sample was filed has been “but won’t they become covered in sand/dust if they stay on Mars for years?”. Obviously the scientists and engineers of the NASA have thought about this eventuality and they wanted to share their point of view to better understand the situation.
First of all, we must remember that, as reported above, this is the first time that a plan of this type has been implemented. The unknowns and the unexpected are possible. For this, a main strategy has been thought up, where it will be precisely NASA Perseverance to bring the samples back to the lander which will then launch them into orbit in a capsule and a backup strategy, where two NASA Ingenuity-like drones will collect the test tubes left on the ground. This is why the experience accumulated with Curiosity (over ten years on the Red Planet) is important, but also the flights of Ingenuity. So as to collect data and information useful for the Mars Sample Return mission. But that’s not all.
As explained, on Mars it is true that there are winds that can be fast but, considering the density of the atmosphere (1/100 of that of the earth), their strength is relatively modest. This means they can move some powder but not titanium tubes. To make it clear that even Martian sand/dust won’t be a problem, Curiosity and InSight were taken as an example.
The rover, as written above, has been on the planet for over ten years now and despite being “dirty” it’s not covered by a really thick layer of dust. The lander, on the other hand, despite having had problems with the solar panels, was still relatively little covered by sand. The engineers have in fact highlighted the cable (laying on the ground) that connected the seismometer to the main unit. Dust is present (and partly put in by the robotic arm) but hasn’t heavily coated it.
Furthermore, thanks to the high-resolution images of MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) and those captured by NASA Perseverance of the surrounding landscape, although there is no “GPS”, the tubes are precisely located. Finally, as written above, this will be “alone” the second strategy (backup) in case the rover should experience problems getting back to the lander when it has landed on Mars. The risks of a mission of this type will be different (for example the landing of the lander, the launch of the rocket from the planet and intercepting the capsule in orbit).
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