Mars Exploration News  
MARSDAILY
NASA's Perseverance Drives on Mars' Terrain for First Time
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 05, 2021

This image was captured while NASA's Perseverance rover drove on Mars for the first time on March 4, 2021. One of Perseverance's Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) captured this image as the rover completed a short traverse and turn from its landing site in Jezero Crater.

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover performed its first drive on Mars March 4, covering 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) across the Martian landscape. The drive served as a mobility test that marks just one of many milestones as team members check out and calibrate every system, subsystem, and instrument on Perseverance. Once the rover begins pursuing its science goals, regular commutes extending 656 feet (200 meters) or more are expected.

"When it comes to wheeled vehicles on other planets, there are few first-time events that measure up in significance to that of the first drive," said Anais Zarifian, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mobility test bed engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "This was our first chance to 'kick the tires' and take Perseverance out for a spin. The rover's six-wheel drive responded superbly. We are now confident our drive system is good to go, capable of taking us wherever the science leads us over the next two years."

The drive, which lasted about 33 minutes, propelled the rover forward 13 feet (4 meters), where it then turned in place 150 degrees to the left and backed up 8 feet (2.5 meters) into its new temporary parking space. To help better understand the dynamics of a retrorocket landing on the Red Planet, engineers used Perseverance's Navigation and Hazard Avoidance Cameras to image the spot where Perseverance touched down, dispersing Martian dust with plumes from its engines.

More Than Roving
The rover's mobility system is not only thing getting a test drive during this period of initial checkouts. On Feb. 26 - Perseverance's eighth Martian day, or sol, since landing - mission controllers completed a software update, replacing the computer program that helped land Perseverance with one they will rely on to investigate the planet.

More recently, the controllers checked out Perseverance's Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) and Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instruments, and deployed the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument's two wind sensors, which extend out from the rover's mast. Another significant milestone occurred on March 2, or sol 12, when engineers unstowed the rover's 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm for the first time, flexing each of its five joints over the course of two hours.

"Tuesday's first test of the robotic arm was a big moment for us," said Robert Hogg, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover deputy mission manager. "That's the main tool the science team will use to do close-up examination of the geologic features of Jezero Crater, and then we'll drill and sample the ones they find the most interesting. When we got confirmation of the robotic arm flexing its muscles, including images of it working beautifully after its long trip to Mars - well, it made my day."

Upcoming events and evaluations include more detailed testing and calibration of science instruments, sending the rover on longer drives, and jettisoning covers that shield both the adaptive caching assembly (part of the rover's Sample Caching System) and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during landing. The experimental flight test program for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will also take place during the rover's commissioning.

Through it all, the rover is sending down images from the most advanced suite of cameras ever to travel to Mars. The mission's cameras have already sent about 7,000 images. On Earth, Perseverance's imagery flows through the powerful Deep Space Network (DSN), managed by NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. In space, several Mars orbiters play an equally important role.

"Orbiter support for downlink of data has been a real gamechanger," said Justin Maki, chief engineer for imaging and the imaging scientist for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission at JPL. "When you see a beautiful image from Jezero, consider that it took a whole team of Martians to get it to you. Every picture from Perseverance is relayed by either the European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter, or NASA's MAVEN, Mars Odyssey, or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They are important partners in our explorations and our discoveries."

The sheer volume of imagery and data already coming down on this mission has been a welcome bounty for Matt Wallace, who recalls waiting anxiously for the first images to trickle in during NASA's first Mars rover mission, Sojourner, which explored Mars in 1997. On March 3, Wallace became the mission's new project manager. He replaced John McNamee, who is stepping down as he intended, after helming the project for nearly a decade.

"John has provided unwavering support to me and every member of the project for over a decade," said Wallace. "He has left his mark on this mission and team, and it has been my privilege to not only call him boss but also my friend."

Touchdown Site Named
With Perseverance departing from its touchdown site, mission team scientists have memorialized the spot, informally naming it for the late science fiction author Octavia E. Butler. The groundbreaking author and Pasadena, California, native was the first African American woman to win both the Hugo Award and Nebula Award, and she was the first science fiction writer honored with a MacArthur Fellowship. The location where Perseverance began its mission on Mars now bears the name "Octavia E. Butler Landing."

Official scientific names for places and objects throughout the solar system - including asteroids, comets, and locations on planets - are designated by the International Astronomical Union. Scientists working with NASA's Mars rovers have traditionally given unofficial nicknames to various geological features, which they can use as references in scientific papers.

"Butler's protagonists embody determination and inventiveness, making her a perfect fit for the Perseverance rover mission and its theme of overcoming challenges," said Kathryn Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist for Perseverance. "Butler inspired and influenced the planetary science community and many beyond, including those typically under-represented in STEM fields."

"I can think of no better person to mark this historic landing site than Octavia E. Butler, who not only grew up next door to JPL in Pasadena, but she also inspired millions with her visions of a science-based future," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science. "Her guiding principle, 'When using science, do so accurately,' is what the science team at NASA is all about. Her work continues to inspire today's scientists and engineers across the globe - all in the name of a bolder, more equitable future for all."

Butler, who died in 2006, authored such notable works as "Kindred," "Bloodchild," "Speech Sounds," "Parable of the Sower," "Parable of the Talents," and the "Patternist" series. Her writing explores themes of race, gender, equality, and humanity, and her works are as relevant today as they were when originally written and published.

Welcome to 'Octavia E. Butler Landing'
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 05 - NASA has named the landing site of the agency's Perseverance rover "Octavia E. Butler Landing," after the science fiction author Octavia E. Butler. The landing location is marked with a star in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

MRO's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft. The University of Arizona in Tucson provided and operates HiRISE.

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.


Related Links
Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


MARSDAILY
Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 25, 2021
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or "head," 360 degrees, allowing the rover's Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover's second panorama ever, as the rover's Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, also located on the mast, captured a 360-degree view on Feb. 20. Mastcam-Z is a dual-camera system equipped with a zoom func ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MARSDAILY
Engineers propose solar-powered lunar ark as 'modern global insurance policy'

Planetary pact: China and Russia to launch lunar space station

Moving into Cislunar Space

One giant step: Moon race hots up

MARSDAILY
China selects astronauts for space station program

China tests high-thrust rocket engine for upcoming space station missions

China has over 300 satellites in orbit

China explores space with self-reliance, open mind

MARSDAILY
Studying Near-Earth Asteroids with Radar

Juno data shatter ideas about origin of Zodiacal Light

Comet Catalina Suggests Comets Delivered Carbon to Rocky Planets

Comet makes a pit stop near Jupiter's asteroids

MARSDAILY
SwRI scientists image a bright meteoroid explosion in Jupiter's atmosphere

Solar system's most distant planetoid confirmed

Peering at the Surface of a Nearby Moon

A Hot Spot on Jupiter

MARSDAILY
Saturn's Tilt Caused By Its Moons

Astronomers estimate Titan's largest sea is 1,000 feet deep

SwRI models point to a potentially diverse metabolic menu at Enceladus

MARSDAILY
ESA Eyes On Earth: Galapagos Islands

How much longer will the oxygen-rich atmosphere be sustained on Earth?

Contract signed to build Arctic weather satellite

A mission for Earth's future

MARSDAILY
Astronauts conclude spacewalk maintenance on International Space Station

Youngest American to go into space is also a cancer survivor

'Astounding' Mars rover landing inspired world, Biden says in call to NASA

NASA updates ISS pricing to "Full Value" for Commercial Activities

MARSDAILY
A giant, sizzling planet may be orbiting the star Vega

Organic materials essential for life on Earth are found for the first time on the surface of an asteroid

Earth has a hot new neighbour - and it's an astronomer's dream

MAROON-X embarks on its exoplanet quest









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.