On Thursday, Feb. 18, the space rover crafted by NASA will land on Mars. Perseverance rovers will soon touch the red planet. Specifically, the Jezero Crater, which is believed to be the best spot to detect if living there will be possible. Tracing back from several billion years, scientists will know if the planet will be suited to be the next Earth for humans.
If you are thinking about watching the live broadcast of its landing, you are on the right page. Besides the space telecast, get to know also the five weird things that will be brought along the expedition.
Where Can You Watch Mars Rover Landing?
In an article written by New York Times' Kenneth Chang, the landing will be around 3:55 p.m. ET. You can watch the broadcast via NASA Television so you will not miss a single happening about the most anticipated rover landing this year. It will begin at 2:15 p.m. at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's mission control room in Pasadena, California.
According to the mission's lead engineer, Allen Chen, the series of tones will indicate many things that could occur. For example, if the rover's heat shield has been removed, the tone will send a signal.
With regards to the tones, they will be the instrument for communicating signals since the main antenna will not be directed to the Earth. In this way, the updates from the rover will be sent by the spacecraft upon its arrival on the red soil. Let's just hope that the Perseverance rover can survive the "seven minutes of terror" in space.
For you to don't miss a single beat about the Mars rover landing, click the video below and save it in your YouTube list so you will be notified ahead of time once it starts.
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Five Bizarre Things That Mars Rover Will Bring Along On The Red Planet
Are you already curious about the strange list of the things that will also land on Mars on February 19? Do you already have a clue what could be included in this group? Let's find out the five (lucky) things that will venture in one of the closest neighbors of the planet Earth.
Mastcam Z
The first item to become a souvenir on Mars will be the Mastcam-Z, the two zoomable cameras attached to the rover so it could take panorama shots on Mars. The thing is, it works just like a regular camera, but according to NASA, it bears a different purpose why it will be sent there.
"Are we alone? We came here to look for signs of life, and to collect samples of Mars for study on Earth. To those who follow, we wish a safe journey and the joy of discovery," NASA said in its statement.
The imaging instrument will only mean one purpose: it will be used to discover important objects on Mars-like traces of prehistoric encounters like in the case of Earth's dinosaur footprints, plant fossils, and cyanobacteria.
10.9 Million Names
Yes, the rover will also bring 10.9 million names along its space adventure. It will be encapsulated inside three microchips. A million names have come from the "Send Your Name To Mars" campaign of the space agency. This was not a new thing for NASA since they did the same during the Curiosity rover venture, which bore 1.2 million names inside a chip.
Furthermore, the microchips were said to contain the top 155 student essays passed in the rover-naming competition. A seventh-grader, Alex Mather, won the event.
SHERLOC
When you first see or hear the word, what have you thought? If your answer is the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, you are right.
SHERLOC stands for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, an instrument bearing an engraved street name in London: the 221b Baker Street. Additionally, it is highly sensitive when it comes to detecting objects, so it will immediately recognize the subject when it comes in contact with organic minerals.
Besides being a spectrometer, it has a pinch of Martian meteorite together with other spacesuit materials. It also has a coin which could possibly be a lucky charm.
A Tribute To Healthcare Workers
Besides the strange things that the rover carries, do not forget that it also gives a tribute to the healthcare personnel who act as the frontline heroes during the pandemic. On the rover's left side, you can see an aluminum plate that bears an image of the caduceus, where a serpent is constricting the pole of the planet.
Martian Meteorite
The rover will also carry a chunk of a meteorite from the red planet. To determine its composition, the scientists used Supercam; it would be more refined for study.
This list is from Space.
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Written by Joen Coronel
