NASA's Perseverance rover has been placing small collections of material on the surface of Mars in anticipation of a future mission to retrieve them. These samples are being stored as a backup in case the rover is unable to transport them to a spacecraft on its own.
In that case, the samples will be retrieved by two helicopters and brought to a return rocket in the 2030s. The samples are being stored in special containers that are resistant to the harsh conditions on Mars, including dust, wind, and darkness. The joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency aims to study the samples collected on Mars for evidence of life.
The samples will be retrieved in the 2030s and brought back to Earth for analysis. Some members of the public have expressed concern that the harsh conditions on Mars, such as wind and dust, could damage the containers holding the samples or make them difficult to retrieve. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has acknowledged these concerns.
Some of you are wondering about the samples I’m putting down. Could the Martian wind blow them away, or cover them with sand over time? Here’s why my team’s not worried: (🧵) pic.twitter.com/UYqLkVNuMU
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 23, 2022
Perseverance Undisturbed Cache Tubes
On Dec. 23, the official account for the Perseverance mission tweeted that the team was not worried about the potential for wind or dust to affect the sample containers, and provided evidence to support this claim. The team has also implemented measures to track the locations where the samples have been deposited, which will serve as an additional backup in case the samples are not retrievable using the planned methods.
Unlike the strong wind depicted in the film "The Martian," the wind on Mars is relatively gentle due to the planet's thin atmosphere, which is only one-hundredth as dense as Earth's at sea level. As a result, Mars wind is mostly limited to moving small grains of sand.
The official Perseverance account tweeted that the winds on Mars can increase in speed, but they do not have the strength to lift and move heavy objects. This means that wind is not a major concern for missions like Perseverance, which is powered by nuclear energy. As an example, the account noted that the Curiosity rover has been operating on Mars for over ten years and has only accumulated a thin layer of dust on its machinery.
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Martian Surface
While wind is not a significant threat to nuclear-powered missions like Perseverance, dust can be a problem for solar-powered missions like the InSight lander. When dust accumulates on the solar panels of these missions, it can block the sunlight needed to generate power and eventually lead to the failure of the mission. This has happened to several solar-powered explorers on Mars in the past.
According to the Perseverance account, the sample tubes will be easy to locate on the surface of Mars because they are low to the ground and are not likely to be covered by dust. The account cites examples like the InSight mission, which showed that even after four years on the surface of Mars, cables from the mission were still recognizable despite being covered in dust. The Perseverance team is also carefully documenting the locations where the samples are being placed, which will make it easier to locate them in the future.
As per Space.com, the backup mission to retrieve the samples from Mars is currently scheduled to launch around 2031, with arrival at Mars expected sometime later. The timing of this mission is dependent on several factors, including funding and the availability of launch opportunities, which occur approximately every two years. If all goes according to plan, the mission could take place anytime before 2040.
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