[ad_1]
- The NASA Perseverance rover’s SuperCam instrument delivered its first results earlier this week.
- Lazer fire determined the nature of the rock targets examined.
- Insider takes a look at the latest developments in the six-wheeled robot.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
NASA’s Perseverance rover’s SuperCam science instrument delivered its first results earlier this week, after laser firing at a target rock.
The SuperCam is a device that studies rocks and soil with a camera, laser, and spectrometers to identify organic compounds that may be linked to past life on Mars. It can identify the atomic and molecular makeup of targets up to 6 meters away, NASA reported.
High intensity lazer is a technique that was also deployed by NASA’s previous rover, Curiosity.
On Thursday, NASA released an audio tape of its rover zapping a target rock named “Máaz”. Recording the laser strikes allowed scientists to uncover more useful information, including the harshness of the subjects examined. “If we are tapping on a hard surface, we will not hear the same sound as when we are tapping on a soft surface,” Naomi Murdoch, of the French National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, told Toulouse, according to BBC News.
Scientists were able to reveal that Máaz was basaltic, meaning it contained a substantial amount of magnesium and iron, BBC News reported.
They have yet to find out if “the rock itself is igneous, that is, volcanic, or perhaps if it is a sedimentary rock made up of igneous grains that have been washed downstream into Lake Jezero and cemented together. together, ”SuperCam chief researcher Roger Wiens said in a BBC News report.
Key Perseverance Developments to Date
Since its historic landing last month, the Perseverance rover has delivered a range of high-resolution images and audio recordings from Martian terrain to Earth.
One of the rover’s first developments was its camera providing front and rear images of Perseverance’s successful landing on Mars. This was followed by audio recordings from microphones attached to the rover. They revealed the sounds of a Martian breeze – the first sounds in history to be recorded on the planet.
The wind was gusting at 5 meters per second (11 mph), according to Dave Gruel, NASA chief engineer for Perseverance’s camera and microphone systems.
A 360-degree panorama taken by the rover’s Mastcam-Z tool was another key facility, as it allowed people to take a full look around the robot’s house in Jezero Crater.
Earlier this month, the six-wheeled robot made its first trip to Mars. While driving, the rover took pictures of its wheel tracks in the dirt behind it. NASA’s Perseverance engineers and scientists are already planning routes for the rover to reach the delta of the river that once fed Lake Jezero, as Insider previously reported.
“Our first ride went incredibly well,” Anais Zarifian, who works in the rover’s mobility team, said at a press briefing. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see the wheel tracks, and I’ve seen a lot of them.”
[ad_2]
Source link