CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) – The huge parachute used by NASA’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message, thanks to a spaceship team puzzle lover.
Systems engineer Ian Clark used a binary code to explain “Dare Mighty Things” on the orange and white stripes of the 70-foot parachute. It also included the GPS coordinates of the mission headquarters at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Clark, a fan of crossword puzzles, came up with the idea two years ago. The engineers wanted an unusual pattern on the nylon fabric to know how the parachute was oriented during the descent. Turning it into a secret message was “super fun,” he said Tuesday.
According to Clark, only about six people knew the coded message before Thursday’s landing. They waited until the images of the parachute returned before posting a teaser during a televised press conference on Monday.
It took a few hours for space fans to find out, Clark said. Next time, he noted, “I’ll have to be a little more creative.”
“Dare Mighty Things” – a line by President Theodore Roosevelt – is a mantra on JPL and adorns many of the center’s walls. The trick was to “try to find a way to encode it, but not make it too obvious,” Clark said.
As for GPS coordinates, the site is 10 feet from the entrance to the JPL visitor center.
Another little-known added touch to the touchdown: Perseverance carries a plaque depicting NASA’s five rovers in increasing size over the years, similar to the labels of family cars seen on Earth.
Another little-known added touch up to the touchdown: Perseverance carries a plaque depicting NASA’s five rovers in increasing size over the years, similar to the labels on family cars seen on Earth.
Project deputy director Matt Wallace promises more hidden Easter eggs. They should be visible once Perseverance’s 7-foot arm is deployed in a few days and starts photographing under the vehicle, and again when the rover drives in a couple of weeks.
“We should definitely keep a close eye on it,” he urged.
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