Blog #15: Space Oddity
By: Antonia Sussina
With a solar system as vast and mysterious as ours, it’s no wonder we have such an urge to go out there and explore it. We’ve been doing this in numerous ways over the years, but one way that’s particularly groundbreaking is the Mars rover known as Perseverance.
This photo also features Percy’s companion; the helicopter named Ingenuity!
Having launched on July 30th, 2020, Perseverance (also known as “Percy”) bravely journeyed through space for about 6 or 7 months, landing on Mars on February 18th, 2021 at Jezero Crater. At the time of writing this (04/25/2021), she’s been on the planet for about 64 Sols, which is about 65 days, give or take. This also means that she’s been up there for approximately 2 months!
Percy’s goals for this mission are as follows: while her main job is to “seek signs of ancient life” and “collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth,” she also has four science objectives to complete. She will look for habitability, seek biosignatures, cache samples, and prepare for humans by testing oxygen production from the atmosphere. The rover will also “test technologies to help pave the way for future human exploration of Mars.” All in all, she has a pretty big job to do up there, but I have no doubt that she will do extremely well.
You might have noticed the caption on the photo above mentions something called “Ingenuity.” If you look closely at that picture, you can see another piece of machinery in the background – it’s small, but it’s there! Take a closer look…
This is the very first Mars Helicopter, named Ingenuity. It hitched a ride on the belly of Perseverance, and it is a “technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.” So far, it has completed two successful flights, and a third one will take place on April 25th, 2021. Some other interesting things about Ingenuity are as follows: it is “built to be light and strong,” “powerful enough to lift off in the thin Mars atmosphere,” can “fly for up to 90 seconds,” and “flies on its own, without human control.” It may be small, but it’s definitely mighty!
If you’re interested, here’s an incredible video of Perseverance landing on Mars: Perseverance Rover’s Descent and Touchdown on Mars (Official NASA Video), as well as some audio she recorded of Martian wind. Hear the Martian wind! Perseverance rover’s first sounds captured. (The description doesn’t sound very exciting, but I think it’s pretty cool.) In addition to these videos, here’s another one about Ingenuity! Second Flight of Mars Helicopter Ingenuity, Flying Higher & Horizontally.
My question: In the future, would you want to go to Mars (or any other planet, if possible)? Also, if you have a favorite planet, feel free to share! Mine is Saturn. :)
Antonia,
ReplyDeleteFirst, your post is very interesting, though-provoking, and educational. Very informative and fun to read about something so outside my wheelhouse.
That said, in reference to your question--no! Unless we are faced with some apocalyptic event in which we are ushered onto a craft and sent to Mars---no.
No, no no.
Space and all its unknowability is so scary to me. Maybe it's just the movies I've watched over the years. But the thought of leaving this Earth is too much for me to handle :)
Very interesting post, Antonia. I've always found Space fascinating, but I think I'd be too scared to go to Mars. It sounds crazy even thinking about it, just traveling to Space. There is a lot unknown out there, and Space is one of them. If I'd had to choose, my favorite planet would be Earth..haha, just because it's the only one I've been to. Thanks for sharing!.
ReplyDeleteFascinating topic! I mean being able to travel to Mars is a huge accomplishment. The fact that we travel not only once but twice is truly amazing. It continues to blow my mind how we continue to advance with technology. In the future, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle traveling to Mars. My level of heights limits to roller coasters. However, my favorite is Neptune. Thank you for sharing this topic!
ReplyDeleteSpace exploration is definitely very interesting, but to answer your question, I personally wouldn't be interested in visiting other planets. I think we should switch our priorities into fixing the planet we already have. I know the NASA was originally created to explore the Earths oceans, but than changed to space exploration. My question is why? A good percent of the ocean and jungles on Earth are still unexplored, so why are we trying to rush off to other plants?
ReplyDelete- Sara Smolock
DeleteThanks for letting me know about this topic! I never really read up on news having to do with space, but it is always interesting to learn about! Although as interesting as it is, like Sara said above me, I'd rather science be used to help the earth. Personally I have no interest in going to mars, since I want to explore all the beautiful places and cultures on earth. Plus, I'm sure it would cost a fortune to even volunteer to go in the first place. Sorry this sounds so negative, but again, as interesting as space is, I wish more time was spent on things that actually effect people right now. (such as global warming ect)
ReplyDelete- My fav planet is Pluto, although I guess it's not considered a planet anymore :/
- Emily Smolock
DeleteThis was so interesting to read! Thank you for sharing! Mars definitely seems like a cool planet to visit but doing this would obviously be very difficult. Space is such a wonderful thing to think about and I'd love to know everything about the unknown. Though it is not a planet, I find the moon really fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we can not comprehend how vast our universe is is mind boggling. But as we continue to overpopulate and pollute Earth, traveling to other planets may be our only hope. Personally, I would not like to trek to other planets because I am too comfortable with living on Earth. Going to another planet means that civilization would have to start from scratch which seems like too much work :).
ReplyDelete- Reem Nijem
I honestly wouldn’t want to go to Mars. I’m fine staying here on Earth, where the air is breathable and the environment is a lot more habitable. It’s my favorite planet, mainly because it’s the only one that I’ve ever been on. Although, if sometime in the distant future they develop a way to visit Mars as a vacation I would be fine with that.
ReplyDelete-Devin Boone
I personally would not want to go to Mars or any planet for that matter, I am too scared and do not fully trust the technology to keep me alive while I am out there, but I find the information and new discoveries about space interesting and intriguing. My favorite planet is the moon because it is so pretty and it makes the nighttime beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAmazing topic choice! It was interesting to learn the efforts of scientists who wanted to discover if there was any evidence of ancient life on Mars. Its previous rovers have completed their missions using the technology available at the time. It became critical to send a more advanced rover to Mars, one capable of collecting samples from the planet and returning them to Earth. Nothing like this has ever been done before which is why this advancement is not only fascinating but exciting for future population incentives. However, I personally would not want to travel to Mars unless I had no other choice but even then I would be reluctant to leave Earth. Earth is such a comfort zone for me and I am honestly terrified to think of what reality would be like on a different planet in the solar system.
ReplyDelete