Midmonth Check-In: February 2021 - Mars Rovers

 The first half of the month has been usually warm in Utah.  Unfortunately, that warmth has been accompanied by cloud cover which obviously makes it difficult for stargazing!  On the positive side, the most exciting event this month, in my opinion, will be able to be viewed online!  As a reminder, click HERE to view the landing of the Perseverance Rover on Mars.  This will occur on the 18th of February at about 2:00 PM Utah time.  Many people will be at work or school, but you should be able to watch a rerun if necessary or if you just want to watch it again!

Many different rovers with various missions have been sent to Mars.  While some of the missions ended in failure before they began due to miscalculations, others have been extremely successful and have lasted longer, sometimes decades, passed the duration of their intended mission.

When a rover or craft attempts a landing on Mars, several calculations must be made which depend on the mass of the craft, velocity, angle, gravity, wind, and altitude, to name a few.  Due to these calculations, sometimes the craft may hit the surface of the planet to hard and destroy it.  

Different types of landings have been attempted on the red planet.  The most common and simplest approach is using parachutes, thrusters, and a type of air bag to help cushion the impact.  The parachutes and thrusters are used to decelerate the craft before impact.  In more recent years, the craft has been surrounded by air bags to act as more protection for landing on the surface of the planet.  The most recent attempt included using a sky crane to lower the vehicle down to the surface, and then use thrusters to safely fly the sky crane away from the rover before crash landing on the planetary surface.  Perseverance will use this landing technique as well.

Aside from searching for life on Mars, previous missions have also looked for water, ancient life (fossil remains), and studied the chemical makeup of soil and rock samples.  Water ice has been discovered below the surface as well as trace amounts of methane.  This is all important information that humans will need if they are to attempt to live on the surface of Mars.  It is also important to note that each mission has landed in a different area on Mars.  If they all landed in the same place, it would be like an alien explorer landing in the oceans of Earth and concluding that there must not be any land mass on the planet!             

The Perseverance mission will continue to study the surface of the planet with updated technology and more sensitive sensors.  Perseverance will also collect samples to possibly return to Earth in the future.  Perhaps one of the most exciting things about this mission is the presence of a mini helicopter that can test the ability to fly in the Martian atmosphere.  To watch an animation provided by NASA on how the landing should work, click HERE!  

Now get outside and look up!

Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.