The spacecraft Perseverance landed on the red planet on 18 February.
On June 1, the rover marked its day number 100 counted in March days, which get cold sol (after solar day). A day on Mars is a little longer than a day here on earth.
– LANDING: Here, Perseverance advocates a successful landing on March 18 February. Photo: NASA
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NASA is radiantly pleased So far.
Perseverance has been able to test all cameras and instruments, it has recorded sound from Mars, and not least sent over 75,000 images back to Earth.
– SOUND AND PICTURE: Here is the first picture of the wheel track of the spacecraft on Mars. Perseverance has also sent home audio recordings. Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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In addition, Ingenuity has written history with the first ever motorized and controlled flight on another planet.
Ingenuity has been tested six times. The first five flights went smoothly. But on the sixth it was dramatic, the Norwegian chief pilot Håvard Grip writes project say homepage ved Jet propulsion laboratory.
– HISTORICAL: Here the helicopter flies for the first time on March 19 April. Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Dramatic moves
A video by Ingenuity shows that the helicopter is starting to sway sharply.
The whole thing is due to a missing image.
The helicopter takes 30 images per second of the ground below it, which is immediately sent to the helicopter’s navigation system. But 54 seconds into the flight, one image disappeared. It disturbed the navigation and resulted in a follow-up error that lasted the rest of the trip.
– Nevertheless, the helicopter managed to land safely only five meters from the planned landing site, says Grip. This is due to a number of built-in instruments that aim for stability even when a problem arises.
– This saved us, says Grip.
– This also confirms that the system is robust.
He adds that even though they had not planned such a stressful trip, it provided important knowledge about how much the helicopter can tolerate, which in turn will provide new knowledge about flying on Mars.
– OUTLOOK: On May 12, Perseverance took this picture from its position in the Jezero crater. Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Norwegian researchers central
Mounted on the rover is the Norwegian-produced georadar Rimfax, which was developed at the Armed Forces Research Institute under the leadership of Svein-Erik Hamran. Hamran is also a professor at the Department of Technology Systems at the University of Oslo.
– EXCITED: Svein-Erik Hamran is excited about the next phase of the assignment. Photo: University of Oslo
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– It has gone well so far. All instruments work. We have now finished checking out the instrument and rover, and are therefore ready to move on with the real mission, says Hamran to TV 2.
The georadar makes it possible to map structures and formations more than ten meters into the ground. Rimfax will thus help to provide answers as to whether Mars may have had conditions that allowed life in the past.
– The ultimate goal is to find out if it has our life on Mars in the past, that is to say about four billion years ago, Hamran says.
The phase
Now the rover is starting to collect samples that the researchers hope will provide answers. The samples will be sent back to Earth, probably in 2030 or 2032.
– How central is Rimfax to the assignment?
– We are one of seven instruments, and all form an important part of the puzzle to find out what has happened in the area.
So far, the rover has only moved in the landing area, but now it is going on new adventures.
– THE ASSIGNMENT: The testing is complete. Now the real mission begins. Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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– It will be very exciting to see new areas, and to follow what our radar will see. We hope, for example, to find out if it has our ice and water there, and if it is there now.
The mission on Mars will last as long as the rover works, probably for eight to ten years.
– There will still be busy times, Hamran concludes.
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