Jezero Crater or Bust! NASA chooses a landing site for its March 2020 rover

We now know where the Mars rover of NASA in search of life and in hiding of samples will land in the next few years.

The March 2020 rover, the size of a car, will explore the Jezero crater, 45 km long (45 km), which sheltered a deep lake in the past, announced today the officials of the NASA (November 19). If current schedules are respected, the six-wheeled robot will be launched on July 17, 2020 and will land on February 18, 2021.

"The landing site in the Jezero crater offers a geologically rich terrain, with reliefs dating back to 3.6 billion years, that could potentially answer important questions of global and global evolution. of astrobiology, "said Thomas Zurbuchen, deputy administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. a statement today. [NASA’s Mars Rover 2020 Mission in Pictures (Gallery)]

"Getting samples from this unique area will revolutionize the way we think of Mars and its ability to shelter life," he added.

There is no sample collection mission in NASA's books, but the agency hopes to be able to recover the material collected in the late 2020s, Zurbuchen said during the meeting. 39, a press conference. The study of such samples in well-equipped laboratories here on Earth could lead to discoveries that can not be made by a robot alone on the Martian surface, he added.

The body of Mars 2020 is largely based on NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet's Gale crater since August 2012. But while Curiosity's main task is to question the planet's potential over the past for welcome life, the new rover will look for evidence of organisms. it may have happened billions of years ago, when the Martian surface was relatively hot and humid.

Jezero Crater will be a great place to do this job, said Zurbuchen and other NASA officials during today's press conference. Scientists believe that a lake 820 feet deep (250 meters) filled the crater at some point between 3.9 and 3.5 billion years ago. Jezero also sports an important river delta, where the water flowing through this system deposited a lot of sediment over the centuries.

"A delta is extremely good for preserving biosignatures, [be they] traces of life that may have existed in the lake water or at the interface of the sediments with the lake water or, possibly, in the region of high water carried by the river and deposited in the delta, "Mars Ken Farley, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory project 2020 in Pasadena, Calif., Said at today's press conference. [Photos: Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life]

Jezero, located about 18 degrees north of the Martian equator, also has considerable geological diversity and complexity, said Farley. March 2020 will be able to study many types of rocks to learn more about the evolution of the planet and its potential for hosting in the past.

The rover will use seven different scientific instruments to perform his various works on the Red Planet. This set includes high resolution cameras, a ground penetrating radar, several different spectrometers and a weather station. March 2020 also carries equipment that will generate oxygen from thin air, dominated by carbon dioxide, demonstrating that a technology could facilitate future human exploration of the red planet.

Another technology demonstrator is also on board: a solar-powered drone that will carry out exploratory exits to help Mars 2020 choose interesting study targets.

It took NASA about five years to land on the Jezero crater as a landing site for March 2020. The agency had recently shortened the list to four finalists: Jezero, Midway and Northeast Syrtis, all nearby from each other, and the almost equatorial site of Columbia Hills, explored by NASA's Spirit robot a decade or so ago.

It is possible that March 2020 will travel to Midway at some point during a possible extended mission, Zurbuchen said today. But he stressed that the focus will be on Jezero through the main mission.

Landing safely inside the crater of Jezero will not be a gimme. The terrain is complex, with rocks and sand dunes to avoid. It is also not advisable to ask directly on the river delta, said today the members of the mission team.

But the team is convinced that the Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing system (EDL) is up to the task. Like Curiosity, the new rover will land with the help of a sky crane powered by a rocket, which will bring Mars 2020 down to the surface with cables. The crane will carry a "relative terrain navigation" (TRN) feature, which will allow it to avoid danger zones during post-fire operations, NASA officials said.

"Nothing has been harder in robotic planetary exploration than landing on Mars," Zurbuchen said in the same release. "The Mars 2020 engineering team has gone to great lengths to prepare for this decision and will continue to work to understand the NRT system and the risks involved." We will review the results independently for us. to ensure that we have maximized our resources. " chances of success. "

The total cost of the March 2020 mission is expected to be a little lower than Curiosity's $ 2.5 billion price, Zurbuchen said today.

Today 's announcement comes just one week before NASA' s InSight lander attempts his own touchdown on Mars. InSight will settle safely in a plain of the red planet called Elysium Planitia in the afternoon of November 26th. If everything goes as planned, then start your investigation of the interior structure and composition of Mars.

Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"(Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate) is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.