Sites and snapshots: the focus is on increasing Mars with Mars 2020 and MarCO missions

Hundreds of researchers and space enthusiasts recently gathered in a ballroom at a hotel in North Los Angeles, California, to discuss and discuss the future landing site for the March 2020 rover mission from NASA. The three-day workshop was the fourth and final event in a series of events to ensure that the space agency receives as much data and opinions as possible from the scientific community before choosing the rover's fall point.Building on NASA's previous rover missions, Mars 2020 is designed to look for signs of past habitable conditions on the red planet. He will also look for signs that the dusty planet has already borne microorganisms.

Scientists are extremely interested in the chosen landing site as a one ton rover since March 2020 is equipped with a sampling system designed to collect rock and soil samples. If all goes as advertised, samples will be set aside at points along the rover path. One day, these samples could be brought back to Earth by a vehicle that would do what has never been done before: get to the surface of Mars and back. Before this can happen, however, it must be decided where Mars 2020 will land.

"The March 2020 landing site could pave the way for Mars exploration for the next decade," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate director of the Science Mission Directorate, via a statement released by the # 39; agency. "I welcome the lively debate and critical contribution of the scientific and technical community. Once brought back to Earth, these samples will likely become the most analyzed soil samples in history, as they promise to answer the very tempting questions on which NASA's scientific program is based. "

The lead researcher for NASA's Mars Mars Exploration Program, Michael Myer, delivered the opening speech of the workshops held October 16-18. The decision to choose one of four possible landing sites is essential for the mission, but it is not the only aspect to consider. The state of the project, the constraints imposed on engineering and other elements were debated. The workshop is only the last step in preparing the robotic geologist for his flight to the top of a United Launch Alliance Rocket Atlas V 541 in less than two years.

"We have been participating in these workshops for the selection of landing sites for 2020 since 2014," said Matt Golombek, co-chair of Mars Landing Site Steering Committee, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. . "In our first workshop, we started with about 30 candidate landing sites. After additional orbital imaging and a second landing site workshop, we recommended eight sites to go forward for further evaluation. There were so many good places to choose, the reduction process was difficult. This time, with four finalists, it promises to be even more difficult. Each site has its own intriguing scientific potential and knowledgeable advocates. "

Supporters at each of the four potential landing sites took turns to stand on the podium, present and defend their arguments. It was one site more than expected after the conclusion of the third workshop in 2017. Three sites were then recommended: the Columbia Hills, the Jezero Crater and the Northeast Sytis.

"By the end of the workshop in February 2017, our radar had only three potential landing sites for March 2020," said Ken Farley, scientific lead for the March 2020 JPL project. "But in the months that followed, a proposal was made for a landing site between Jezero and Northeast Syrtis. Our goal is to reach the right site with the maximum scientific data for March 2020. This new site, dubbed "Midway" – was considered worthy of inclusion in the discussions. "

On the last day of the workshop, participants reviewed the positive and negative aspects of each site. The results of these discussions will be shared with the March 2020 project team and will be incorporated into a recommendation at NASA headquarters. At this point, the possible locations will be reduced to one and a final decision will be made. If all goes as planned, the announcement of the "winner" should be made by the end of 2018.

"I have attended all the workshops so far and none have been disappointed with regard to smart promotion and lively debate," Farley said. "But it's science: convincing and respectable exchange of ideas. The passion of the participants shows how much they care about the exploration of Mars. They know that they play a key role in the process and that they know how important the landing site will be for March 2020. "

The exploration of Mars seems to be increasing with an element of another NASA mission that has marked the story earlier this month. NASA's interior exploration using seismic investigations, geodesy and heat transport (Insight) are the Mars Cube One CubeSats twins. MarCO-A and MarCO-B. These tiny vehicles are not going to land with Insight on Mars, they were instead sent on an overflight of the planet.

The reason they were sent as a couple was to increase the chances of success. MarCO has already achieved this goal, at least in one respect.

MarCO-B, nicknamed "Wall-E", managed to stand out from his brother by launching his first image of InSight destination on October 2 of this year (2018). This feat was historic in that it was the first time that a CubeSat took a picture of Mars as close to the planet.

The snapshot was not a frivolous use of mission equipment. It was rather a test exposure of the parameters of the wide angle camera of MarCO-B. As the picture shows, the test worked. The MarCO team hopes to be able to build on this achievement in the coming days with more images planned. The photo was taken 12.8 million kilometers from the mission destination.

"We are waiting six months to arrive on Mars," said Cody Colley, MarCO Mission Manager at JPL. "The cruising phase of the mission is always difficult, so you take all the little victories when they show up. Finally, seeing the planet is definitely a big win for the team. "

At present, InSight is scheduled to land in the Mars area, Elysium Planitia, on November 26th. The MarCO CubeSats are responsible for displaying their communication capabilities.

With ongoing missions such as Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, spaceships en route to Mars and developing, the study of the frozen world continues. As noted in Phys.Org and elsewhere, recent studies have suggested that salt water beneath the surface of the planet or on the surface of the planet could contain enough dissolved oxygen to support simple living things such as microbes that Mars 2020 will look for and perhaps even complex organisms.

Video provided by NASA / JPL-Caltech

Tagged: MarCO InSight Jet Propulsion Lab Project Stories March 2020 Rover Mars Cube One NASA

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