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Perseverance rover spacecraft is experiencing technical problems – Izland BipBip

There will undoubtedly be a before and an after Perseverance. NASA launched its mobile robot to Mars on Thursday, designed to discover traces of ancient microbes that may have swarmed the planet three billion years ago. The rover also carries a minihelicopter which will attempt the first flight of an aircraft on another planet.

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The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launch took place at 7:50 a.m. from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first stage of the rocket broke off a few minutes later, before a second thrust, from Earth orbit, which propelled Perseverance on its trajectory towards Mars. “It’s really fantastic to be gone after all the work done by this team,” said Bobby Braun, a NASA executive, after the launch.

But hours later, the spacecraft carrying NASA’s Perseverance rover to Mars experienced technical difficulties and is currently operating using only its essential functions, NASA said in a statement. “The data indicates that the spacecraft is entered a state known as safe mode, presumably because part of the ship was a bit cooler than expected “when” in the shadow of Earth, “NASA said. “At thehour current, the Mars 2020 mission carries out a complete assessment of the state of the vessel. “

If it arrives intact on February 18, 2021, Perseverance will be only the fifth rover to successfully complete the voyage since 1997. All are Americans. China launched its first Mars rover last week, which is expected to land in May 2021. Mars could therefore have three rovers in activity next year, with the American Curiosity, who has traveled 23 kilometers on the Red Planet since 2012.

Look for traces of life

The new rover, built at NASA’s legendary Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is an improved version of Curiosity: its six wheels are stronger, faster, smarter and can self-pilot 200 meters per day. Big as a 4 x 4 (three meters long), it weighs a ton, has 19 cameras and two microphones, which could be the first to record Martian sound. Its robotic arm measures two meters. A plutonium generator will recharge its batteries.

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Once at good port, NASA will try to make thehelicopter Ingenuity, 1.8 kg, in the very fine air of Mars, dense as 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere. The aim is to prove the feasibility of the concept. NASA is very interested in planetary exploration from the air, as rovers can only travel a few tens of kilometers in their life, and are vulnerable to sand dunes and other reliefs, although Perseverance will be able to climb 40cm high obstacles. A first flying drone (Dragonfly) will be sent in 2026 to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

The main mission of Perseverance will be to search for traces of life spent on Mars, because scientists believe they have good evidence that more than three billion years ago the planet was warmer and covered with rivers and lakes, ingredients which gave birth, at least on Earth, to microbes… Before the red planet became cold and dry, for a reason which still eludes planetologists.

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