After a journey across the stars, the NASA owned rover, named Perseverance, will finally have its big day. After leaving Earth on July 30th, 2020, the tiny rover finally touched down on Mars’s surface on February 18th. Perseverance and other rovers in the future will help search for clues for big questions: did life ever exist on Mars, what happened to it, and the even bigger question – are we alone?
Perseverance will explore an ancient lake that existed in the Jezero Crater nearly 4 billion years ago in search of traces of life that may have once existed. This lake existed before Earth was even created. Site samples will be returned to Earth in the 2030s by subsequent missions.
Perseverance will accomplish feats never before done on the Red Planet including recording the first tapes of sound and dropping a helicopter onto the surface of the planet. Over a process that takes about 10 days, the rover will also drop a miniature helicopter, called Ingenuity, on the surface of Mars and roll away from it. This will be the first helicopter to land on Mars.
The tiny 4-pound helicopter will face stifling conditions once atop the Red Planet. It will endure nights where the temperature is well below freezing. Ingenuity will charge itself using its solar panels with light from the distant sun, and thus create warmth. It’s unbelievable that life could have ever survived in these conditions.
The helicopter will remain idle after touchdown on Mars, awaiting downloads and maintenance checks from the crew on Earth. After all systems are confirmed ready to go, the little helicopter will be ready to take its first flight, which is predicted to last about 20 seconds.
Perseverance and Ingenuity will be the first steps in a long journey to discovering more about the universe around us. This mission could help uncover if it is possible for humanity to survive on Mars or on other planets across the universe. If there really was life on Mars, what caused its extinction?
