The Perseverance robotic vehicle made its first journey over the surface of Mars by traveling 6.5 meters, a displacement that is the first milestone for this mission, NASA scientists reported on Friday.
Two weeks after its arrival on the red planet, which occurred on February 18, the “rover” took its “first steps” this Thursday afternoon by moving just over four meters forward, then turn left about 150 degrees and finally back about 2.5 meters.
“Our first trip was incredibly good,” said Anais Zarifian, an engineer at NASA’s Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and part of the team responsible for the mobility tests, at a press conference. of Perseverance.
“We are now confident that our propulsion system is ready to operate, able to take us where science takes us for the next two years,” he added.
Members of the mission of the “rover”, the maximum speed is 0.01 miles per hour (16 meters per hour), although faster than its predecessor Curiosity, have detailed that once the Perseverance starts from the mostly his scientific research will make regular trips of about 200 meters.
At the press conference, team members showed images showing the vehicle’s footprints on the rocky surface of Mars.
Katie Stack Morgan, an assistant scientist on the mission, has announced that the site in Jezero Crater where Perseverance arrived has been named Octavia E. Butler, in honor of the California-born science fiction writer of the same name. ).
As explained today, in recent days, the vehicle has performed program updates and various tests, including the deployment of two wind sensors of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), developed by the Spanish Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC).
Also this week, mission scientists first deployed the rover’s two-meter-long robotic arm, and for two hours flexed each of its five joints.
Mission Deputy Director Robert Hogg noted that they are conducting analysis to determine the best place to place the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
He added that they plan to complete the first necessary tests and measurements before the summer before the helicopter can make its first flight in the Martian air.
In its first two weeks on the red planet, Perseverance has already sent some 7,000 images captured through the “most advanced set of cameras ever traveled to Mars,” as Morgan said.
The Perseverance, which left Earth in July 2020, carries a device that will transform carbon dioxide, which accounts for 96% of the Martian atmosphere, into oxygen, this for the breathing of astronauts on future manned voyages. and as a rocket propellant to return to Earth.
The robot has the task of searching for ancient life, taking samples, studying the geology and climate of the red planet and preparing the way for a manned journey.