On Thursday, Sep. 15, at 11:30 a.m. EDT, NASA will hold a briefing update on the Perseverance Mars mission. The live broadcast includes highlights from Perseverance's first year and a half on Mars.
NASA Live Link on Perseverance Rover Briefing Update
NASA shared a link to a live stream of the media briefing titled "NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Area." Prior to this event, the website will air the International Space Station Expedition 67 in-flight event with NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Franklin County High School.
The rover landed on the surface of Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. It was accompanied by the Ingenuity mini helicopter. It also investigates soil and rock samples in preparation for a future return to Earth. It is now spending nearly six months exploring a long-dry river delta.
The scientists who will participate in the briefing include Lori Glaze (director of NASA's planetary science division, NASA Headquarters), Laurie Leshin (JPL director),Rick Welch (Perseverance deputy project manager, JPL), Ken Farley (Perseverance project scientist, Caltech), Sunanda Sharma (SHERLOC scientist, JPL), and David Shuster (Perseverance returned sample scientist, University of California, Berkeley).
Perseverance Seeks Frost on Jezero Crater
According to a recent NASA post, the rover is now searching for frost in the crater. The SuperCam and Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instruments are used. Perseverance, like Opportunity and Curiosity, is used to learn about the geology and water cycle of Mars and its craters.
The agency stated that now is the ideal time to look for frost because it is the height of winter at Jezero Crater. Frost forms when the temperature of the ground falls below the frost point.
The frost point is the temperature at which water vapor in the air can directly condensate into solid ice on the ground. It varies according to the air's humidity. The MEDA instrument collects temperature and humidity data, allowing scientists to predict which sols will have the best frost formation conditions. SuperCam enters the picture once the conditions are favorable for frost formation.
The scientists conducted their first SuperCam frost detection activity in the Red and Snowy Mountains. They hope to find more hydrogen in the LIBS spectra and O-H bonds in the Raman spectra, which they believe are present in the Snowy Mountain. They were also looking for a soft acoustic signal in the first LIBS shot in the mountains, which indicates the presence of a frost layer as thin as ~10 microns.
ALSO READ : NASA Perseverance Rover Found a Weird 'Noodle-Like' Object in Mars Leaving Scientists Confused
Other Mars Exploration: Ingenuity
On its 31st flight, Ingenuity recently took to the skies once more. Take note that the drone helicopter is still operational well past its expected lifespan. It flew for nearly 56 seconds and traveled 318 feet horizontally. The flight path took it toward the remains of a long-dry river delta that NASA's Perseverance rover has been exploring in the previous months.
A planned interagency sample return mission may bring Perseverance's cache to Earth in the mid-2030s, if all goes to plan.
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