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Mars - Blog Posts
Are You Up to the Task of Navigating Space with NASA?
We’re committed to exploration and discovery, journeying to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But how do we guide our missions on their voyage among the stars? Navigation engineers lead the way!
Using complex mathematical formulas, navigation experts calculate where our spacecraft are and where they’re headed. No matter the destination, navigating the stars is a complicated challenge that faces all our missions. But, we think you’re up to the task!
Our space navigation workbook lets you explore the techniques and mathematical concepts used by navigation engineers. The book delves into groundbreaking navigation innovations like miniaturized atomic clocks, autonomous navigation technologies, using GPS signals at the Moon, and guiding missions through the solar system with X-ray emissions from pulsars — a type of neutron star. It also introduces you to experts working with NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
If you’re a high schooler who dreams of guiding a rover across the rocky surface of Mars or planning the trajectory of an observer swinging around Venus en route to the Sun, this workbook is for you! Download it today and start your adventure with NASA: https://go.nasa.gov/3i7Pzqr
The Legacy of Viking
On this day in 1976, we landed an ambitious mission on Mars –– the Viking 2 mission.
One of a pair of identical spacecraft, Viking found a place in history when it became the first U.S. mission to successfully land on Mars and return images of the surface.
Viking imaged and collected different types of data on the Martian surface. It also conducted experiments specifically designed to look for possible signs of life.
These experiments discovered unexpected chemical activity in the Martian soil but provided no clear evidence for the presence of living microorganisms.
Viking didn’t find unambiguous signs of life on Mars, but it made astrobiologists wonder if we devised the right tests. To this day, the results from Viking are helping to shape the development of life detection strategies at NASA.
So, what’s next in our search for life?
Our Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is the first mission designed to seek possible signs of past Martian life. For astrobiologists, the answers to questions about Mars’ habitability are in Perseverance’s “hands.” The robot astrobiologist and geologist launched earlier this year on July 30 and will touch down on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.
Discover more about Viking and the history of exploration at Mars with our “Missions To Mars” graphic history novel here.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Was There Once Life On Mars? Our Perseverance Rover Aims to Find Out
Our Perseverance mission is set to launch on Thursday, July 30 and could help answer many longstanding astrobiology questions about Mars. The mission will deliver our Perseverance rover to the Martian surface, and this powerful rover is equipped with a multitude of tools to study the planet's environment and to answer questions about whether or not the Red Planet could have had life in the past.
In preparation for launch, our Astrobiology Program is releasing a new update to Issue #2 of the graphic history series, Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe. This new, fourth edition tells the tale of our exploration of Mars in relation to astrobiology.
The history of our exploration of Mars is full of struggle and triumph. Mars is a dangerous and difficult planet to visit, with frigid temperatures, damaging dust storms, low gravity, and a thin atmosphere. Despite the challenges, NASA missions have opened our eyes to a world that was much more Earth-like in its past, with environments that contained all the necessary conditions for life as we know it.
Issue #2 tells the complete history of our endeavours on Mars, from the Mariner missions to Viking and Pathfinder to Curiosity. In this fourth edition, you’ll find details on the Perseverance rover and its journey to search for ancient signs and signatures of life that could once and for all tell us whether or not life gained a foothold on the ancient Red Planet.
Perseverance will also drill into Martian rocks and collect samples that will one day be returned to Earth by a future Mars Sample Return mission. The samples will be stored in special containers and carefully 'cached' in a location on Mars where they will be easily accessible for retrieval. These samples will allow astrobiologists to perform detailed experiments that robots are not yet able to undertake remotely.
Visit astrobiology.nasa.gov/graphic-histories/ to download the new edition of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe, and read the entire series to explore NASA’s astrobiology journey to understand the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and the potential for life elsewhere in the Universe!
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That’s a wrap! Thank you all very much for the wonderful questions.
We’re so excited to send Perseverance off on her journey to Mars, and we will be launching on July 30 at 7:50 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
If today’s Answer Time got you excited, team up with us to #CoutdownToMars! We created a virtual Mars photo booth, 3D rover experience and more for you to put your own creative touch on sending Perseverance well wishes for her launch to the Red Planet! View them all, HERE.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
As an engineering undergrad how can I contribute to the space exploration program?
What range/area will Perseverance be able to cover on the Martian surface? I'm assuming it's greater than the other rovers but by how much?
Do you have any messages or tips for other girls who want to study and work in STEM fields?
Why do scientists think there could have been life on Mars?
What were some of the biggest challenges in this project and how did you overcome them?
How have you used the experience gained from Curiosity to make Perseverance better? Like, Curiosity's wheels are showing wear and tear, so is there something different about Perseverance's wheels?
Do you feel fulfilled with your job and what you're doing in the world?
Any advice for young girls going into the sciences?
What design steps do you take to make sure that the robot runs smoothly, without anything like sand getting in the gears and wires?
What is the most exciting thing you hope to learn?
What's a day working at NASA like??
How long did it take to build the rover??
What, in your opinion, is Perseverance's most groundbreaking experiment/ instrument?
What part did you take in Perseverance' development?
Will Perseverance be near any other Rovers?
What will scientists do if Perseverance does find signs of life on Mars?
Why does it take so long for the rover to reach Mars?
The answers are IN for your questions about our Perseverance rover and her upcoming mission to Mars!
Sit back, relax, and get ready to learn some science and engineering! Experts Sarah Stewart Johnson and Lauren DuCharme are here to talk about the July 30 launch of our Perseverance mission, women in STEM, and much more.
Our Answer Time starts now!
Excited about the #CountdownToMars? We've got you covered.
We've created a virtual Mars photo booth, 3D rover experience and more for you to put your own creative touch on wishing Perseverance well for her launch to the Red Planet! Check it out, HERE.
Don’t forget to mark the July 30 launch date on your calendars!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Curious about NASA’s next mission to the Red Planet – the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover? Here’s your chance to ask an expert!
Targeted for launch to the Red Planet in July 2020, our Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will search for signs of ancient life. Mission engineer Lauren DuCharme and astrobiologist Sarah Stewart Johnson will be taking your questions in an Answer Time session on Friday, July 17 from noon to 1pm ET here on our Tumblr! Make sure to ask your question now by visiting http://nasa.tumblr.com/ask
Lauren DuCharme is a systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, where she’s working on the launch and cruise of the Perseverance rover. Lauren got her start at JPL as an intern. Professor Sarah Stewart Johnson is an astrobiologist at Georgetown University in Washington. Her research focuses on detecting biosignatures, or traces of life, in planetary environments.
Fun Facts:
The name Perseverance was chosen from among the 28,000 essays submitted during the "Name the Rover" contest. Seventh-grader Alex Mather wrote in his winning essay, "We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up."
Perseverance will land in Jezero Crater, a 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer-wide) crater that scientists believe was once filled with water.
Perseverance carries instruments and technology that will pave the way for future human missions to the Moon and Mars. It is also carrying 23 cameras and two microphones to the Red Planet — the most ever flown in the history of deep-space exploration.
Perseverance is the first leg of a round trip to Mars. It will be the first rover to bring a sample caching system to Mars that will package promising samples for return to Earth by a future mission.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Today we celebrate the mission that piqued our curiosities, and drove NASA’s perseverance to pursue further exploration of the Red Planet. The Sojourner rover landed on July 4, 1997, after hitching a ride aboard the Mars Pathfinder mission. Its innovative design became the template for future missions. The rover, named after civil rights pioneer Sojourner Truth, outlived its design life 12 times. This panoramic view of Pathfinder's Ares Vallis landing site shows Sojourner rover is the distance. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Meet the people behind our next Mars rover – Perseverance.
Sending a rover to the Red Planet is more than just 3…2…1… Liftoff 🚀
It takes thousands of people and years of hard work to get a spacecraft from Earth to Mars. So when our Perseverance (Percy) rover touches down on the Martian surface, it will be because of the talented minds that helped to make it happen.
The team is on track to launch Perseverance on July 20 and land in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February 2021. Each week leading up to launch, learn not only what it’s like to work on this mission but also about the diverse background and career trajectories of the team members at our Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Want to stay up to date on Percy’s mission? Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. For more information, visit the official mission site, HERE.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
What was your favourite NASA mission or project?
Follow our Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance or “Percy,” on Twitter to keep up with all its progress and discoveries!
Percy: https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere
5 Ways NASA Technology is Shaping the Transportation of Tomorrow
We have always been in the transportation business, whether launching astronauts to the Moon or improving airplanes to make them fly faster and safer on less fuel. And whether directly – like more aerodynamic wings for passenger jets – or indirectly – like more comfortable driver seats in sedans – this is yet another way our innovations benefit the public.
Today, the world of transportation is on the brink of some big changes. Drones are poised to make more efficient deliveries, crop surveillance and even disaster relief efforts. Taxis may soon take to the skies as well. And self-driving cars are ever closer to reality.
As we release our latest edition of NASA Spinoff, our yearly publication that celebrates the many ways our technology helps people on Earth, let’s take a closer look at some ways we’re helping augment transportation — and keeping everyone on the roads and in the skies safe.
1. Better data for driverless navigation
If cars are going to drive themselves, they need to be able to “see” and assess the world around them, from other cars to pedestrians and bicyclists to a construction cone in the road. This is accomplished with the help of 3D cameras, or light detection and ranging (lidar), which sends out laser pulses and calculates where obstacles are by how long it takes that laser to bounce back.
But that, says engineer Farzin Amzajerdian at our Langley Research Center, is like building a 3D picture one pixel at a time. Instead, a new kind of lidar grabs a full array of pixels all at once. This “flash lidar” is faster and, because it has fewer moving parts, more reliable. It sailed through initial tests for possible use on a future Moon lander, and our partner has also sold the technology to a major car parts manufacturer, for autonomous cars.
2. Opening the airspace for drones
Air traffic control has largely been a human operation so far, with people in control towers actively directing all 50,000 or so flights daily across the United States. But add in drones, and humans won’t be able to keep up: experts estimate there will soon be millions of aircraft in flight every day.
We’re helping automate and streamline flight control, working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and private companies to build the new technology needed to manage the anticipated challenges. Among other advances as a result, one company has built a platform used at airports, by air traffic controllers, and by drone operators around the world to more easily file flight plans, view the airspace, get clearance in restricted areas and more.
3. Software modeling for air taxis
It may sound like something from the Jetsons, but real people are imagining the technology needed to make flying taxis a thing. And they’re probably not going to look anything like the passenger planes that we’re used to.
But when you start with a totally new design, there are all sorts of variables, including how much it will weigh. When it comes to flying, weight is a critical factor. For one thing, a heavier craft needs more fuel, but more fuel makes it even heavier. And all that weight stresses the structure, which means reinforcing it (more weight again!). Do it wrong, and all these factors cycle endlessly until you have something too heavy to get off the ground.
New software, designed with our help, generates fast and accurate weight estimates of novel aircraft designs, helping engineers figure out what works and how to make it better. Among other customers? UberElevate, which is trying to take rideshares to the skies.
4. More nimble hand controls
We’ve even played a part in improving different kinds of joysticks, for everything from planes and video games, over the years. We had to because—especially in the early days of space travel—spacesuits were pretty unwieldy under the high g forces of launch and re-entry, so we needed to develop easy-to-use hand controls.
One former astronaut, Scott Parazynski, had acquired a wealth of experience training on and using NASA joysticks for jobs like maneuvering the International Space Station’s robotic arm. He realized similar technology could have even more of an impact on Earth. Parazynski, who is also a medical doctor, envisions improving robotic surgery with the new joystick he created; in the meantime, it’s already on the market for drones, making it easier than ever to use them to record aerial video, inspect a gas pipeline or even assess damage after a hurricane.
5. Helping farmers get the full picture
The “bird’s-eye view” is an expression for a reason: flying overhead provides a perspective you just can’t get with two feet planted on the ground. For the first time ever, we are going to get that bird’s eye view on Mars, and the same expertise that got us there is also giving farmers a new way to keep track of their crops.
The Mars Helicopter is poised to hitch a ride to the Red Planet with our latest rover, Perseverance, later this year. Designing it was a challenge: because there is so little air to provide lift on Mars, we needed something incredibly light (less than four pounds!) with large rotors that spin incredibly fast (nearly 3,000 times per minute).
We teamed up with a company we’ve worked with in the past on high-altitude, solar-powered, unmanned flyers. That company had something else in the works, using the same expertise: a drone equipped with two high-res cameras to capture images of crops as it flies overhead. The data from these images tells farmers where plants are thriving and where they’re not, informing them where they might need more (or less) water or fertilizer.
You can learn more about all these innovations, and dozens more, in the 2020 edition of NASA Spinoff. Read it online or request a limited quantity print copy and we’ll mail it to you!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Allow us to reintroduce someone ... the name’s Perseverance.
With this new name, our Mars 2020 rover has now come to life! Chosen by middle school student Alex Mather, Perseverance helps to remind ourselves that no matter what obstacles we face, whether it's on the way to reaching our goals or on the way to Mars, we will push through. In Alex’s own words,
“We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up. The human race will always persevere into the future.”
Welcome to the family. ❤️
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.