The exploration of the planet Mars continues. NASA’s American rover, temporarily dubbed Mars2020, is ready for its mission: to detect traces of past life. The machine, designed on the same model as Curiosity (which has been surveying Mars since August 2012), is equipped with a laser camera designed in Toulouse in the laboratories of IRAP (Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology) under the responsibility of CNES (National Center for Space Studies). Fixed at the top of the rover’s mast, endowed with five functions, SuperCam will provide information on the elementary chemistry of rocks thanks to its infrared laser and will analyze, with the Raman laser, the bonds between atoms as well as the possible presence of organic molecules. It also includes a color camera, an infrared imager and a microphone. Takeoff is scheduled for July 2020 from Cape Canaveral (Florida) for an arrival on the red planet in February 2021./ CNES photo Nicolas Tronquart 2018
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