posted 07-14-2016 02:44 PM               

This thread is intended for comments and questions regarding NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

Perseverance will look for signs of past life inside Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake bed. The rover will collect samples of Martian rock and soil that a potential future mission could return to Earth for analysis and will assess Mars' geology and environment, providing context for other investigations.

posted 05-21-2019 10:07 PM               

NASA Invites Public to Submit Names to Fly Aboard Next Mars Rover

Although it will be years before the first humans set foot on Mars, NASA is giving the public an opportunity to send their names — stenciled on chips — to the Red Planet with NASA's Mars 2020 rover, which represents the initial leg of humanity's first round trip to another planet. The rover is scheduled to launch as early as July 2020, with the spacecraft expected to touch down on Mars in February 2021.

The rover, a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms), will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

"As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington. "It's an exciting time for NASA, as we embark on this voyage to answer profound questions about our neighboring planet, and even the origins of life itself."

The opportunity to send your name to Mars comes with a souvenir boarding pass and "frequent flyer" points. This is part of a public engagement campaign to highlight missions involved with NASA's journey from the Moon to Mars. Miles (or kilometers) are awarded for each "flight," with corresponding digital mission patches available for download. More than 2 million names flew on NASA's InSight mission to Mars, giving each "flyer" about 300 million frequent flyer miles (nearly 500 million frequent flyer kilometers).

From now until Sept. 30, you can add your name to the list and obtain a souvenir boarding pass to Mars here.

The Microdevices Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, will use an electron beam to stencil the submitted names onto a silicon chip with lines of text smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair (75 nanometers). At that size, more than a million names can be written on a single dime-size chip. The chip (or chips) will ride on the rover under a glass cover.

NASA will use Mars 2020 and other missions to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. As another step toward that goal, NASA is returning American astronauts to the Moon in 2024. Government, industry and international partners will join NASA in a global effort to build and test the systems needed for human missions to Mars and beyond.

The Mars 2020 Project at JPL manages rover development for SMD. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. Mars 2020 will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

posted 06-20-2019 05:38 PM               

... engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover.

posted 06-20-2019 05:46 PM               

Engineers redesigned the Mars 2020 wheels to be more robust due to the wear and tear the Curiosity rover wheels endured while driving over sharp, pointy rocks. Mars 2020's wheels are narrower than Curiosity's, but bigger in diameter and made of thicker aluminum.

posted 06-25-2019 10:56 AM               

NASA Selects Partners for Mars 2020 'Name the Rover' Contest, Seeks Judges

NASA has selected two partner organizations to run a nationwide contest giving K-12 students in U.S. schools a chance to make history by naming the Mars 2020 rover. An application to become contest judge also is now available online.

Battelle Education, of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers, of Burbank, California, will collaborate with NASA on the Mars 2020 "Name the Rover" contest, which will be open to students in the fall of 2019. The student contest is part of NASA's efforts to engage the public in its missions to the Moon and Mars.

The currently unnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. The spacecraft is targeted for a July 2020 launch and is expected to touch down on Mars in February 2021.

"We're very excited about this exceptional partnership," said George Tahu, Mars 2020 program executive in NASA's Planetary Science Division at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "Contests like this present excellent opportunities to invite young students and educators to be a part of this journey to understand the possibilities for life beyond Earth and to advance new capabilities in exploration technology."

By focusing the Mars 2020 "Name the Rover" contest on K-12 entries, NASA seeks to engage U.S. students in the engineering and scientific work that makes Mars exploration possible. The contest also supports national goals to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and help create the next generation of STEM leaders.

Battelle will connect students to the Mars 2020 mission through its portfolio of STEM networks. It will help recruit judges and students and also curate resources for teachers.

Future Engineers is an education technology company that engages K-12 students with innovation contests and challenges. The Mars 2020 "Name the Rover" contest will be hosted on Future Engineers' web platform, which will serve as the online portal for entry submission and judging.

Judges Needed

K-12 students are not the only ones able to participate in the contest. NASA also is seeking volunteers to help judge the thousands of contest entries anticipated to pour in from around the country. U.S. residents interested in offering approximately five hours of their time to review student-submitted rover names may visit the Future Engineers website and register to be a judge.

posted 08-28-2019 02:45 PM               

Looking somewhat like an extraterrestrial version of a 1960s slide projector, Mars 2020's bit carousel is home to nine drill bits that facilitate sample acquisition and surface analysis: two for abrading, one for regolith (rock and soil) and six for coring. The coring and regolith bits are used to place Martian samples in a clean sample collection tube, while the abrader bit is used to scrape the top layers of rocks to expose un-weathered surfaces for study.

posted 08-28-2019 02:49 PM               

A rover by any other name: NASA asks students to name Mars 2020 rover

NASA's next Mars rover is in need of a name.

The space agency on Tuesday (Aug. 27) launched a contest for U.S. students to name its new six-wheeled robotic probe launching to the red planet next year. The Mars 2020 Name the Rover contest is part of NASA's efforts to inspire students to take an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and in the STEM enterprise behind Mars exploration.

posted 01-13-2020 02:03 PM               

NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Closer to Getting Its Name

NASA's Mars 2020 rover is one step closer to having its own name after 155 students across the U.S. were chosen as semifinalists in the "Name the Rover" essay contest. Just one will be selected to win the grand prize - the exciting honor of naming the rover and an invitation to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The currently unnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

"This rover is the first leg of a round-trip mission to Mars that will advance understanding in key science fields like astrobiology," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. "This contest is a cool way to engage the next generation and encourage careers in all STEM fields. The chosen name will help define this rover's unique personality among our fleet of Martian spacecraft."

With more than 28,000 essay submissions received from K-12 students, NASA recruited volunteer contest judges from every U.S. state and territory. Nearly 4,700 eligible judge volunteers were selected from a diverse pool of educators, professionals, and space enthusiasts and were instrumental in selecting the semifinalists.

The next phases of judging will reduce the competition to nine finalists, and the public will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite name online in late January. The results of the poll will be a consideration in the final naming selection.

The nine finalists will talk with a panel of experts, including Glaze, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA JPL rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who proposed the name for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, as a sixth-grade student in 2009. The grand prize winner will be announced in early March 2020.

For complete contest and prize details, including a full listing of the 155 state/territory semifinalists, visit here.

The naming contest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California.

posted 01-21-2020 12:00 PM               

Nine Finalists Chosen in NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Naming Contest

Members of the public have an opportunity to vote for their favorite name for NASA's next Mars rover. The nine candidate names were made possible by the "Name the Rover" essay contest, which invited students in kindergarten through 12th grade from across the United States to come up with a fitting name for NASA's Mars 2020 rover and write a short essay about it.

More than 28,000 essays were submitted after the contest began on Aug. 28 last year. A diverse panel of nearly 4,700 judge volunteers, composed of educators, professionals and space enthusiasts from all around the country, narrowed the pool down to 155 deserving semifinalists from every state and territory in the country.

"Thousands of students have shared their ideas for a name that will do our rover and the team proud," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "Thousands more volunteered time to be part of the judging process. Now it is the public's opportunity to become involved and express their excitement for their favorites of the final nine."

The nine finalists (submission name, grade level, student name and state) are:

• Endurance, K-4, Oliver Jacobs of Virgina
  
• Tenacity, K-4, Eamon Reilly of Pennsylvania
  
• Promise, K-4, Amira Shanshiry of Massachusetts

• Perseverance, 5-8, Alexander Mather of Virginia
  
• Vision, 5-8, Hadley Green of Mississippi
  
• Clarity, 5-8, Nora Benitez of California

• Ingenuity, 9-12, Vaneeza Rupani of Alabama
  
• Fortitude, 9-12, Anthony Yoon of Oklahoma
  
• Courage, 9-12, Tori Gray of Louisiana

The poll opens online today and will remain open through Jan. 27 until 9 p.m. PST (midnight EST). The results of the poll will be a consideration in the final naming selection. For the poll, visit here.

After the poll closes, the nine student finalists will discuss their rover names with a panel including Glaze, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA-JPL rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who earned the honor of naming the Mars rover Curiosity as a sixth-grade student in 2009.

The contest will conclude in early March, when the rover's new name - and the student behind it - are announced. The grand prize winner will also receive an invitation to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The currently unnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. Scheduled to launch in July or August 2020, the rover will land in Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.

The naming contest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California.

posted 03-05-2020 12:43 PM               

Virginia Middle School Student Earns Honor of Naming NASA's Next Mars Rover

NASA's next Mars rover has a new name – Perseverance.

The name was announced Thursday by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, during a celebration at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. Zurbuchen was at the school to congratulate seventh grader Alexander Mather, who submitted the winning entry to the agency's "Name the Rover" essay contest, which received 28,000 entries from K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory.

"Alex's entry captured the spirit of exploration," said Zurbuchen. "Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it's going to make amazing discoveries. It's already surmounted many obstacles to get us to the point where we are today – processing for launch. Alex and his classmates are the Artemis Generation, and they're going to be taking the next steps into space that lead to Mars. That inspiring work will always require perseverance. We can't wait to see that nameplate on Mars."

Perseverance is the latest in a long line of Red Planet rovers to be named by school-age children, from Sojourner in 1997 to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed on Mars in 2004, to Curiosity, which has been exploring Mars since 2012. In each case, the name was selected following a nationwide contest.

The contest that resulted in Alex's winning entry of Perseverance began Aug. 28, 2019. Nearly 4,700 volunteer judges – educators, professionals and space enthusiasts from around the country – reviewed submissions to help narrow the pool down to 155 semifinalists. Once that group was whittled down to nine finalists, the public had five days to weigh in on their favorites, logging more than 770,000 votes online, with the results submitted to NASA for consideration. The nine finalists also talked with a panel of experts, including Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division; NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins; rover driver Nick Wiltsie at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California; and Clara Ma, who, as a sixth grade student in 2009, named Curiosity.

Up until two years ago, Mather was more interested in video games than space. That all changed in the summer of 2018 when he visited Space Camp in Alabama. From his first glimpse of a Saturn V – the rocket that launched the Apollo astronauts to the Moon half a century ago – Mather became a bona fide space enthusiast, checking NASA.gov daily, consuming astronaut autobiographies and even 3D-printing flyable model rockets. When the call went out for students to propose a name for NASA's new Mars rover, Mather knew he wanted to contribute.

"This was a chance to help the agency that put humans on the Moon and will soon do it again," said Mather. "This Mars rover will help pave the way for human presence there and I wanted to try and help in any way I could. Refusal of the challenge was not an option."

Along with forever being associated with the mission, Mather will also receive an invitation to travel with his family to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to witness the rover begin its journey when it launches this summer. While Mather has received NASA's grand prize in this competition, NASA also is acknowledging the valuable contributions of the semifinalists whose entries were among the top ones considered.

"They came so far, and their expressive submissions helped make this naming contest the biggest and best in NASA history," said Glaze, who also attended the event Thursday. "So, we decided to send them a little farther – 314 million miles farther. All 155 semifinalists' proposed rover names and essays have been stenciled onto a silicon chip with lines of text smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair and will be flown to Mars aboard the rover."

NASA's Perseverance rover is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms). Managed for the agency by JPL, the rover's astrobiology mission includes searching for signs of past microbial life. It also will characterize the planet's climate and geology, and collect samples of Martian rocks and dust for a future Mars Sample Return mission to Earth, while paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

"When word went out during the naming event here at JPL, I took a moment to look around the auditorium," said John McNamee, project manager of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission at JPL. "I saw all these dedicated men and women who for years have invested the full measure of their intellect and stamina into the most technologically advanced rover mission in history – and I saw a lot of smiling faces and high-fives. Perseverance? You bet, that is a worthy name that we can be proud of as the first leg of a sample return campaign."

Perseverance currently is undergoing final assembly and checkout at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's targeted to land on Mars' Jezero Crater a little after 3:40 p.m. EST (12:40 p.m. PST) Feb. 18, 2021.

The rover naming contest partnership was part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California. Amazon Web Services is an additional prize provider for the Mars 2020 naming contest and will provide Alex and his family a trip to see the launch.

Mars 2020 is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis program.

posted 03-26-2020 05:09 PM               

10.9 Million Names Now Aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover

NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign invited people around the world to submit their names to ride aboard the agency's next rover to the Red Planet. Some 10,932,295 people did just that. The names were stenciled by electron beam onto three fingernail-sized silicon chips, along with the essays of the 155 finalists in NASA's "Name the Rover" contest. The chips were then were attached to an aluminum plate on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 16. Scheduled to launch this summer, Perseverance will land at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.

Above: A placard commemorating NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign was installed on the Perseverance Mars rover on March 16, 2020, at Kennedy Space Center. Three silicon chips (upper left corner) were stenciled with 10,932,295 names and the essays from 155 finalists in NASA's "Name the Rover" contest. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The three chips share space on the anodized plate with a laser-etched graphic depicting Earth and Mars joined by the star that gives light to both. While commemorating the rover that connects the two worlds, the simple illustration also pays tribute to the elegant line art of the plaques aboard the Pioneer spacecraft and golden records carried by Voyagers 1 and 2. Affixed to the center of the rover's aft crossbeam, the plate will be visible to cameras on Perseverance's mast.

Currently, the coronavirus has not impacted the Mars Perseverance rover launch schedule. The installation was one of numerous recent activities performed by the Perseverance assembly, test and launch operations team. On March 21, the team began reconfiguring the rover so it can ride atop the Atlas V rocket. Steps included stowing the robotic arm, lowering and locking in place the remote sensing mast and high-gain antenna, and retracting its legs and wheels.

Above: Top center: The plate on the aft crossbeam of NASA's Mars Perseverance rover — seen here on March 16, 2020, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center — carries 10,932,295 names submitted by people during NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign and essays of the 155 finalists in the "Name the Rover" contest. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Perseverance rover is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize Mars' climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and help pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

posted 05-14-2020 07:08 AM               

Launch vehicle performance then defines the launch period (days that a launch is possible) and launch window (the time during a day that launch is possible).

A minimum launch window of 30 minutes is preferred and well as a minimum launch period of 21 days. So this defines the actual launch vehicle that is needed. Further analysis defines the actual launch period and daily windows. The launch window increases in size as the days progress through the period rising to a peak and then decreases until the end. Usually a max of two hours is only used for launch windows throughout the period (rise up to two hours, plateau and then decrease).

The trajectory is designed so no matter which day and time it is launched, the arrival time is the same.

During the whole period and each window, the launch vehicle guidance knows how to adjust for the actual liftoff time and meet the required outbound trajectory. As Robert mentioned, the park orbit duration is adjusted for the actual launch time.

The difference between launching at the beginning or end of the window vs the optimum time is several hundreds pounds of performance. This means a heavier spacecraft could bore launched but with shorten windows and period but with the associated risks of not being able to make the biennial launch opportunity due to weather and vehicle issues.

posted 06-17-2020 04:11 PM               

Amid the added strain of staying on schedule while incorporating additional precautions — and keeping friends, families and colleagues safe — the Mars 2020 mission team has been acutely aware of the dedication and hard work of people in the medical community around the world during the pandemic. With them in mind, the mission installed a plate on the left side of the rover chassis, between the middle and rear wheels. The graphic on the 3-by-5-inch (8-by-13-centimeter) aluminum plate depicts Earth, supported by the medical community — represented by the ancient symbol of the serpent-entwined rod. A line depicting a spacecraft's trajectory rises from Central Florida toward Mars, represented as a small dot in the background.

"We wanted to demonstrate our appreciation for those who have put their personal well-being on the line for the good of others," said Matt Wallace, Perseverance deputy project manager at JPL. "It is our hope that when future generations travel to Mars and happen upon our rover, they will be reminded that back on Earth in the year 2020 there were such people."

posted 07-06-2020 03:27 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Headshot:
Does anyone know if the percussive drill on the Mars 2020 rover has the same design as the one of Curiosity?

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It's an exciting time on the project, as we get closer to launch! If you have any other questions, feel free to drop them here, and I'll check back when I get a chance.

posted 07-07-2020 08:59 AM               

NASA's next Mars rover has a name – Perseverance. Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it's going to make amazing discoveries.

posted 07-15-2020 12:31 PM               

Live Webinar on Mars Perseverance Mission with NASA Leaders

As part of its new webinar series, "Space Foundation Presents," Space Foundation will host an exclusive conversation with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory leadership on July 20 at 1:00 p.m. (EDT) to explore our next giant leap onto the Red Planet, Mars.

The hour-long discussion, "Roving the Red Planet: Perseverance, Ingenuity, and the Next Generation of Explorers," will feature:

• The Honorable Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator
  
• Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate
• Dr. Michael M. Watkins, Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director
  
• MiMi Aung, Project Manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

This free and exclusive discussion will provide updates on the upcoming launch of the Mars Perseverance rover, along with the Ingenuity Mars helicopter — the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. The webinar will also share how ambitious missions such as Perseverance and Ingenuity help inspire the next generation of explorers.

In announcing the July 20 program, Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor said, "The opportunity to share bold missions like the ones we are taking to Mars not only helps bring the world a better understanding of our universe, but reveals the potential we all have to pioneer the unknown and inspire new generations to take even bolder steps in the future. At the Space Foundation, we are proud to serve that mission of engagement and inspiration."

The webinar will open with comments by Space Foundation CEO, Tom Zelibor, followed by a discussion moderated by Thomas Dorame, Vice President, Strategic Washington Operations.

The hour-long program will also include a question and answer session with the public. Space Foundation's webinar series, "Space Foundation Presents" is co-sponsored by Boeing.

Registration for the webinar is free, but required, and can be done here.

posted 07-27-2020 01:38 AM               

Mars sample return: NASA's Perseverance rover to return Martian meteorites to Mars

NASA is poised to launch its first Mars sample return mission, though not in the traditional sense of the term.

posted 07-29-2020 10:18 PM               

Tune in to our live launch broadcast starting at 7 a.m. EDT. Teams are targeting 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT) on Thursday, July 30, for liftoff of Perseverance atop United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

posted 07-30-2020 06:45 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim Behling:
The STC will inform me when all the work is complete.

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posted 07-30-2020 08:07 AM               

ULA and its heritage rockets have launched every U.S. led mission to Mars, beginning in the 1960s. The launch of this mission marks ULA's 20th trip to the red planet and the 85th successful launch of an Atlas V rocket.

Successful spacecraft separation about 57 minutes after launch. Perseverance is on its way to a Feb. 18, 2021 landing on Mars!

posted 07-30-2020 09:54 AM               

We had a good launch this morning, we're right on course for Mars and signal from Perseverance is strong. We are working to configure the ground stations to match the strength of the spacecraft signal. This scenario is one we've worked through in the past with other missions.

I am healthy and on my way to Mars, but may be too loud for the antennas on Earth while I'm so close. Ground stations are working to match my signal strength so that I can communicate clearly with my team.

posted 07-30-2020 01:09 PM               

Separately, the telemetry revealed that the spacecraft was in safe mode, per a NASA update:

Data indicate the spacecraft had entered a state known as safe mode, likely because a part of the spacecraft was a little colder than expected while Mars 2020 was in Earth's shadow. All temperatures are now nominal and the spacecraft is out of Earth's shadow.

When a spacecraft enters safe mode, all but essential systems are turned off until it receives new commands from mission control. An interplanetary launch is fast-paced and dynamic, so a spacecraft is designed to put itself in safe mode if its onboard computer perceives conditions are not within its preset parameters. Right now, the Mars 2020 mission is completing a full health assessment on the spacecraft and is working to return the spacecraft to a nominal configuration for its journey to Mars.

posted 08-14-2020 09:25 PM               

My first planned Trajectory Correction Maneuver was a success. I do TCMs on my journey to stay on target for a Feb. 18, 2021 date with Mars. I left Earth over 2 weeks ago and already put on 27+ million miles. Only ~265 million more to go!

posted 09-30-2020 08:14 PM               

I've just made my second in-flight course correction, to make sure I stay on target for my date with Mars. About 187 million miles (300 million kilometers) left to go.