Perseverance will go to Enchanted Lake, but there is a problem | Updates from Mars

Those who have closely followed our specials on the movements of Perseverance and Ingenuity on Mars, will remember that in April the rover crossed an area located on the front of the river delta and called Enchanted Lake. A sample collection was not attempted as after careful evaluation the responsible team decided to avoid the operation at that time, but with a promise to return. How come? Enchanted Lake has some really interesting geological featuresas you will discover shortly.

And so NASA has decided to have the rover retrace its steps, but before leaving there is a potential ‘clean-up’ problem to be solved. Read on to find out more.

The photo of the rocky outcrop you see above was taken from one of the rover’s Hazard Avoidance Cameras on April 30, 2022. Enchanted Lake takes its name from a place in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Of particular interest are the stratified sedimentary rocks that form the areaaggregated over time from the sedimentation of mud, silt and sand that were brought into the lake that once filled the Jezero crater, to then undergo a slow compression and solidification into thin layers still visible today.

If by chance in that period of strong geological activity microscopic organisms had existed, perhaps during the formation of sedimentary rock, it goes without saying that they could have been captured inside the layers to remain frozen over time as fossilized life forms. Hence the layered rocks of Enchanted Lake Could they contain evidence that Mars once harbored microscopic life?

It is a possibility that NASA does not want to give up and therefore has decided that it is time to retrace its steps and carry out a more in-depth investigation. The journey to Enchanted Lake is expected to begin in the next few days with an expected arrival in early September.

But before starting the journey in these days, work is being done to verify whether the presence of some debris, found in the Perseverance drilling system, could represent a problem or not. This is not the first time that rock fragments have entered the sample collection system and wedged inside.

The two most recent fragments were found after the 12th collection of a sample, dated 5 August. Analysis of the latest images sent by the rover to Earth indicate that, while the two small pieces remain visible at the top of the drill spindle, no new external elements have been observed. In doubt, NASA has performed various diagnostic activities and ordered Perseverance to perform small movements, lateral displacements, controlled vibrations of the components that can be controlled and in general, shake the instruments as much as possible in order to get rid of any foreign element.

As happened in January, NASA decided to take some time to figure out whether or not to clean the inside of the core drilling system. Mars is a dusty planet and it is normal that a complex core drilling system like that of Perseverance, capable of drilling and crumbling rocks, could get dirty or contain foreign fragments: NASA obviously took this into consideration in the development phase and with the as time goes by, the problem will be more and more felt. However, caution is never too much when it is impossible to intervene manually on site!

Once we are satisfied that Perseverance can go smoothly, the journey to Enchanted Lake will continue.

After a break that lasted over two months, the small Martian helicopter Ingenuity flew again and did it for the thirtieth time. It was a small test flight, apparently more of a leap than a real one, but which apparently helped the engineering team to assess the health of the helicopter and better monitor the battery parameters. and instruments. The movement was similar to that of the first flights, i.e. with a lateral movement of 2-4 meters and relative return to the starting point.

Not only that, the flight also served shake some dust and sand off the blades and solar panels, in such a way as to avoid a loss of power and a degradation of the charging capacity of the cells. The operation took place on 23 August and for the moment we only have a first image visible just above and taken by the NavCam during the flight. Everything should have gone smoothly and in the next few days there may be new images in both low resolution and high resolution, taken from the main unit.

We have chosen to fly little and to keep the heating capacities of the main components at optimal levels since at this time in the Jezero crater it is still winter and at night the temperatures drop down to -86 degrees Celsius. The solar energy stored may not be sufficient for all activities, including flights, so it was decided to wait a while to get a sufficient charge. But in these two months Ingenuity did not exactly stand still, as a high-speed spin procedure was performed on August 15, which brought the rotor system to a speed of 2,573 rpm for several seconds. A static maneuver then, but once again necessary to clean dust blades and solar panels.

We can therefore unbalance ourselves in saying that, against all odds, Ingenuity’s support work for Perseverance will continue until the helicopter comes to life, and as we anticipated a few weeks ago, a more advanced version of it could also become the protagonist in the future. sample recovery mission called Mars Sample Return.