[아이뉴스24 정종오 기자] NASA’s Mars landing rover, Perseverance, celebrated its one-year anniversary. Perseverance landed on Mars on February 18, 2021 (local time).
Perseverance weighs regarding 125 kg. It is heavier than other Mars landing probes such as Opportunity and Curiosity. That’s because it was equipped with a number of scientific instruments that were not previously available. Above all, Perseverance has a drill function that can secure Martian soil samples. So far, 6 samples have been collected. sealed and stored.
He served as the commander of the helicopter ‘Ingenuity’ that was carried here. Injury set a milestone for the first time in human history to fly from another celestial body. Every time Injourney flew, Percy Beerance was a huge help, including taking several pictures while watching him by his side.
Perseverance has several cutting-edge features. Because of this, the travel distance is longer than that of other probes. On February 14th, he set a great record of moving 320m in one day. This far exceeds the record set by the Mars probe so far. Here, Perseverance is equipped with autonomous driving software. If there are obstacles on the way, you can dodge it yourself.
Perseverance conducted research in a crater that likely once contained water on Mars. It is hoped that the data collected by Perseverance will give us a glimpse into the past of Mars.
Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA evaluated, “The samples collected by Perseverance from the Jezero Crater are important data that inform the history of Mars.”
Injury, which is working with Perseverance, cannot be left out. Injury calls it the ‘Mars Helicopter’. It has been temporarily suspended from activity to avoid a Martian dust storm. It was originally planned to fly regarding 5 times. Beyond this, it has successfully completed 19 flights so far.
Mars has a very low density of air, making it difficult for helicopters to fly. The rotors are also large and must rotate very quickly. Above all, it is difficult to know what the condition is because you cannot see it directly. Experts believe that it will be difficult to fly to Mars with humans on board because of this.
Images taken by Insanity just above the surface of the earth provide a different perspective from that of the lander.
Perseverance’s biggest mission is to find traces of life, including microbes, on the former Mars. This characterizes the geology and past climate of Mars. It means collecting basic data on the ‘red planet’ before humans go to Mars in the mid-2030s. It is also the reason Perseverance collects rocks and dust from Mars.
“We will work with the European Space Agency (ESA) to send a spacecraft to Mars in the future to obtain samples collected and sealed by Perseverance and bring them back to Earth,” NASA said.
