Did Perseverance Mars Rover Pick Its Landing Spot on Its Own? NASA Engineer Explains

Greater than a yr after NASA launched the Perseverance rover for Mars, the house company is bringing the main focus again on how its exact touchdown spot was determined or who selected the place it ought to land. In an Instagram submit, NASA mentioned that the rover made the choice moments earlier than it touched down on the floor on February 18 this yr. The rover landed within the Jezero crater, which is believed to have hosted an enormous lake and a river delta in historical instances. The mission goal is to see whether or not these once-existing water our bodies can throw some gentle on previous life on Mars.

NASA thanked engineer Swati Mohan and a brand new expertise known as Terrain Relative Navigation for making probably the most difficult touchdown ever tried on Mars a hit. NASA’s newest Instagram submit accompanied a video of Mohan, explaining how Perseverance picked its touchdown spot.

Mohan mentioned when NASA determined to ship a rover to Mars, a complete group of consultants acquired collectively to determine the place it’s presupposed to go. The Jezero crater acquired scientists due to the rocks, the hills, and the lakes that had probably the most chance of giving out indicators of previous life on Mars. However to land, Perseverance wanted to see the floor earlier than touchdown. The Terrain Relative Navigation expertise was like a watch to the rover, Mohan added. This enabled it to determine the place it was and the place it ought to go for a easy and protected touchdown. So it selected its touchdown spot by itself after analysing the floor.

The rover’s mission is to gather samples of Martian rock and soil. These samples can be picked up by a future mission for detailed evaluation on Earth, based on NASA. “Perseverance will even check applied sciences that would pave the best way for future human exploration of Mars,” the company added. Nonetheless, Perseverance shouldn’t be alone on this mission. It has a helicopter, Ingenuity, for aerial surveillance.

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