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Two high-definition Mastcam-Z cameras were installed on the rover deck this week. Mastcam-Z will help the rover to perform multispectral and stereoscopic imagery, which will help the rover develop its driving and coring capabilities, the agency said.
The March 2020 rover will announce many firsts. It will collect rock and soil samples and stock them for future collection and return missions to Earth. And he will be able to retarget his point of landing on landing.
"Mastcam-Z will be the first Mars color camera capable of zooming, allowing 3D images at unprecedented resolution," said Jim Bell, principal investigator of Mastcam-Z. "With a resolution of three hundredths of an inch [0.8 millimeters] in front of the rover and less than an inch and a half [38 millimeters] over 330 feet [100 meters] away – Mastcam-Z images will play a key role in selecting the best possible samples to return from the Jezero crater. "
The rover has been subjected to numerous tests as it is approaching a year after launch. Recently, the Lander Vision System conducted a test flight aboard a helicopter to Death Valley. It is also prepared for the extreme temperatures and destructive levels of sound and vibration tests expected during the landing.
"First of all, we are making sounds to make sure nothing moves," said David Gruel, head of assembly, test and launch operations for Mars 2020 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. . "Then, after a thorough examination, we put it in space by placing the spaceship in this huge vacuum chamber that we have here at JPL." We suck the atmosphere, then cool it down. some parts and cook others, while testing the performance of the entire spacecraft. "
Doing things right when the rover is still on Earth is essential for everything to go well once on Mars.
"It's the most complete resistance test you can put a spaceship here on Earth," said Gruel. "We flew over our simulated space environment for a week and a day, checking and re-checking the performance of each embedded system and subsystem, and everything looked great – which is a good thing, because the next time this plane will fly empty, be on the way to Mars for real. "
"Putting our helicopter in an extremely thin atmosphere is only part of the challenge," said Teddy Tzanetos, Mars helicopter test leader at JPL. "To really simulate flights to Mars, we have to remove two-thirds of the gravity of the Earth, because the gravity of Mars is much lower. "
The helicopter is only the last spacecraft to join the fleet of vehicles that they have built and tested to explore our solar system.
It will act as a scout for targets to study on Mars and help plan the most effective driving routes for rovers.
"Watching our helicopter prove itself in the room, I could not help thinking of the historic vehicles that were there before," said MiMi Aung, project manager for the helicopter Mars at JPL. "The room has hosted missions ranging from Ranger Moon probes to Voyagers through Cassini, and every Martian rover ever flown in. See our helicopter inside reminding us that we're doing a little part of the history of space. "
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