US Mars exploration rover’Perseverance’ landed on the surface of Mars on the 18th (local time)/Photo = EPA
The US Mars exploration rover’Perseverance’ has successfully landed on Mars. Perseverance is expected to open new horizons in Mars exploration by carrying out missions, such as finding traces of life.
On the 18th (local time), the Associated Press announced that NASA’s fifth Mars exploration rover Perservation had settled in’Jezero Crater’, which is believed to be the ancient delta of Mars.
After launching on July 30 last year, Perseverance reached Mars by flying 471 million km. Perseverance is the most demanding and dangerous, so it has successfully passed through the process of entering, descending, and landing (EDL) into the pale orange Mars atmosphere called ‘7 minutes of fear’.
The Associated Press said, “Because the distance between Mars and Earth is so long, the Mars settlement signal sent by Perservance to the NASA control station reached Earth after 11 minutes and 30 seconds after landing.” It weighs 1026 kg, the size of a car, and is expected to be tested over the next few weeks.
Imagination of the landing process of Perseverance/Photo courtesy of NASA
A photo/photo courtesy of NASA’s U.S. Mars exploration rover’Perseverance’ after landing on Mars’Jezero Crater’ on the 18th (local time)
Perseverance is tasked with finding traces of ancient life that may have existed on Mars during this period and collecting soil and rock samples to bring to Earth. For example, the crater is estimated to be the delta where the river flowed from 3 to 4 billion years ago, and it is estimated that traces of organic molecules and other microorganisms can be found.
As Perseverance is equipped with equipment that can find organic matter and analyze rocks and soil components, soil and rock samples are collected and stored in dozens of titanium tubes and stored in a promised place on Mars. The samples are expected to be collected by other rovers to be launched later and sent to Earth in 2031.
While the United States is planning a manned expedition to Mars in the 2030s, Perseverance is also tasked with preparing for manned expeditions to Mars. The 1.8 kilogram small helicopter,’Inseruity’, which was carried along with the Perseverance, is scheduled to attempt the first power flight on Mars. It also conducts experiments to see if oxygen can be extracted from Mars’ atmosphere and used for rocket propulsion fuel and breathing.
Imagination of the landing process of Perseverance/Photo courtesy of NASA
NASA staff cheering when Perseverance lands on Mars safely/Photo = REUTERS
Among the NASA Mars exploration rovers so far, the largest and most elaborate personalization is noted as it is equipped with two’recording microphones’ for the first time on a Mars rover. In the past, probes have seen, touched, tasted, and smelled Mars, but no probe has yet captured the’voice of Mars’. This is the reason why scientists from all over the world respond that’perservation has opened a new horizon’.
Perciviarance, the core of the Mars 2020 Mission, which was invested in about 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion), is not the first NASA exploration rover to bring audio equipment to the Red Planet, but advanced landers such as Mars Polar Lander in 1999 and Phoenix in 2008 will Various activities, such as recording the sound of the ‘7 Minutes of Horror’ course that could not be done, will be held.
Meanwhile, the Perseverance Twitter account tweeted “I’m safe on Mars” right after landing. Five minutes later, I shared the first picture I took on Mars with the phrase “My first gaze at my eternal home.”
“This landing is a pivotal moment for world space exploration, the United States, and NASA,” said Acting NASA Director Steve Eugeke in a press release. “It is a turning point in the discovery of sharpening pencils to rewrite textbooks.”
Seongsu Bae, reporter Hankyung.com [email protected]