Jezero has a more dynamic past than scientists had anticipated. This basin has witnessed flowing lava, at least one lake that lasted perhaps tens of thousands of years, running rivers that created a mud-and-sand delta and heavy flooding that brought rocks from faraway locales. Hundreds of researchers scouring the data Perseverance has sent back so far now have some clues to how the crater has evolved over time. Volcanic rock is just one of the surprises the rover has uncovered. Since landing, “we’ve been able to start putting together the story of what has happened in Jezero, and it’s pretty complex,” says Briony Horgan, a planetary scientist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., who helps plan Percy’s day-to-day and long-term operations. It’s also collecting samples to return to Earth. Drilling, scraping and collecting pieces of the Red Planet, the rover is using its seven science instruments to analyze the bits for any hint of ancient life. Jezero was picked for the Mars 2020 mission because it appears from orbit to be a former lake environment where microbes could have thrived, and its large delta would likely preserve any signs of them. While the earlier rovers focused on Martian geology and understanding the planet’s environment, Percy is looking for signs of past life. The most complex spacecraft to explore the Martian surface, Percy builds on the work of the Curiosity rover, which has been on Mars since 2012, the twin Spirit and Opportunity rovers, the Sojourner rover and other landers.īut Perseverance’s main purpose is different. Nicknamed Percy, the rover arrived at the Jezero crater two years ago, on February 18, 2021, with its sidekick helicopter, Ingenuity. It was not made up of the layers of clay and silt that would be found at a former lake bed. The visible shapes along with the chemical compositions showed that this rock, dubbed Rochette, was volcanic in origin. Be sure to follow the journey of Perseverance as it explores the red planet.Then the scientists watched on a video conference as the rover’s two spectrometers revealed the chemistry of those meshed textures. It’s going to be a very exciting mission and perseverance is going to be crucial to it all. The rover’s mission is to seek signs of ancient life, collect rock samples for future retrieval, and to pave the way for human exploration of Mars some day. That name is going to live on Mars forever because it’s going to be etched on the rover’s robotic arm right there. The human race will always persevere into the future. We, not as a nation, but as humans, will not give up. We are a species of explorers and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing: Perseverance. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars and beyond. We are always curious and seek opportunity. If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans. 28,000 kids sent in essays with their best ideas, 4,700 judges helped narrow them down, and the world weighed in on their favorites too. We asked for your help to name the rover and you answered the call. We’ve been building the rover and getting it ready for launch and kids across the country have played a big part too. NASA’s newest rover is gearing up for its journey to Mars. 18, 2021.įor more information on the Mars 2020 mission, go to: įor more about the “Name the Rover” contest, visit The rover will land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. The launch period for Perseverance opens on July 17, 2020. In each case, the name was selected after a nationwide contest. Perseverance is the latest in a long line of Red Planet rovers to be named by school-aged children, from Sojourner in 1997 to Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed on Mars in 2004, to Curiosity, which has been exploring Mars since 2012. Zurbuchen was on hand at the school to congratulate Alexander Mather, who submitted the winning entry to the agency’s "Name the Rover" essay contest, which received 28,000 entrants from K-12 students from every U.S. The name was announced today by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington during a celebration at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. NASA has chosen a name for its next Mars rover: Perseverance.
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