NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is making ready to make its approach to a web site that “enchanted” the house company’s science staff when the rover first visited the location again in April of this 12 months. However first, the staff will probably be attempting to determine what two items of international object particles (FOD) discovered on one of many rover’s coring bits may probably be.
“Enchanted Lake” is situated southwest of the rover’s present location on the Jezero Crater delta on Mars. The staff is presently assessing what two small string like items situated on a coring bit might be. NASA says, nevertheless, that it does really feel protected in shifting ahead with Perseverance touring to the brand new location, as a result of progress the staff has already made in its FOD investigation.
The particles was first situated in a picture of the rover’s pattern assortment system taken on August 5, 2022. Since that point, the staff has carried out a battery of methodical diagnostic actions to be able to higher perceive what the particles is perhaps.
A part of the testing has included having the rover transfer, rotate, or vibrate parts the staff thinks might be dwelling to FOD. Through the testing, the staff has been capable of procure a number of units of photographs of the parts from totally different angles and in various lighting circumstances. The photographs have been captured utilizing a number of of Perseverance’s cameras, which embody its Mastercam-Z, Navcam, Hazcam, and Supercam. One other digital camera utilized was the Huge Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations (WATSON), which is situated on the rover’s turret. The staff additionally notes that all the current coring and bit-exchange actions have been carried out “nominally with no indication of interference from the FOD.”
The particles was discovered following the storing of twelfth pattern of the mission. The 2 small items of particles have been seen throughout the routine of investigating photographs of a number of pattern assortment system parts. One was discovered on the coring bit (saved within the bit carousel) and one other small hairline object on the drill chuck. The staff says that it may have originated from the rover, or probably got here from Perseverance’s entry, descent, and touchdown (EDL) system that was jettisoned originally of the mission.
Throughout Perseverance’s first go to to Enchanted Lake, a picture was taken that supplied the science staff with its first close-up glimpse of sedimentary rocks. These rocks have been created by particles carried by the ambiance and/or water, after which deposited in flat-lying layers which ultimately was rock over a time frame. The hope is that websites corresponding to Enchanted Lake will present pertinent data that can assist the house company in making ready for future manned visits to Mars.
