Mars 2020, Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter drone, NASA, USA

[Airicist]

We persevere

Jul 7, 2020

NASA's next Mars rover has a name – Perseverance. Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it’s going to make amazing discoveries.

The time at hand is hard. We have already surmounted many obstacles on our way to Red Planet, but as humans we will not give up. We will always persevere.

Targeted for launch in July 2020, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past and for signs of past microbial life itself.

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NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: attempting the first powered flight on mars

Jul 14, 2020

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will make history's first attempt at powered flight on another planet next spring. It is riding with the agency's next mission to Mars (the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover) as it launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station later this summer. Perseverance, with Ingenuity attached to its belly, will land on Mars February 18, 2021.

As a technology demonstration, Ingenuity is testing a new capability for the first time: showing controlled flight is possible in the very thin Martian atmosphere. If successful, Ingenuity could lead to an aerial dimension to space exploration, aiding both robots and humans in the future.

[Airicist]

ORNL-produced tech fuels NASA's Perseverance mission to Mars

July 17, 2020

ORNL produces some pretty out-of-this-world materials. Plutonium-238, a unique iridium alloy, and carbon-bonded carbon fiber are all key ingredients for deep space exploration. NASA uses these materials in the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG.

An MMRTG is like a nuclear-powered battery pack that can sustain far-reaching space missions for decades.NASA’s Perseverance mission to Mars is the latest to feature one of these generators outfitted with ORNL tech.

(Animations courtesy of NASA, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.)

[Airicist]

NASA Space Crafts: Mars Perseverance Rover

Jul 17, 2020

Mars beckons and NASA is ready to heed the call of the Red Planet with the upcoming launch of the Perseverance rover. But before launch day, kids of all ages can put their imagination to paper via the latest edition of NASA Space Crafts.

[Airicist]

#EZScience Episode 9: Launching to Mars with NASA's Perseverance Rover

July 18, 2020

Let’s talk about science! In the latest episode of #EZScience, learn about the upcoming launch of Perseverance. Dr. E and Dr. Z talk about the technological advancements of the newest Mars rover (and helicopter!). The premiere of this episode is part of the National Air and Space Museum’s Mars Day program.

[Airicist]

Drone copter to take flight for the first time on Mars

Jul 20, 2020

Despite a global pandemic and some technical delays, NASA’s 2020 Mars Rover – the aptly named Perseverance – is scheduled to launch this summer (currently slated for July 30) on a groundbreaking endeavor. Perseverance will bring along a small, four-pound helicopter dubbed Ingenuity. The copter will be the first flying vehicle on another planet and will have to navigate the frigid nights and dust-filled skies of Mars while operating in an atmosphere that is 100 times thinner than Earth’s. Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Marc Pavone played a role in determining the mission's landing site.

[Airicist]

NASA leaders discuss Mars Perseverance Mission

Jul 20, 2020

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Roving the Red Planet Perseverance, Ingenuity, and the next generation of explorers

July 21, 2020

Join Space Foundation for a live webinar featuring @NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen, Director of the @NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Michael Watkins, and Mars Helicopter Project Manager MiMi Aung.

Senior NASA leaders will discuss the groundbreaking Mars 2020 mission followed by a live Q&A.

[Airicist]

NASA Science Live: Perseverance Mars Rover & the Search for Ancient Life

July 22, 2020

Millions of miles from Earth lies a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. You know this planet as Mars…but it hasn’t always been this way. There’s evidence that the Red Planet was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago. Could it also have supported life? NASA’s Perseverance rover launches next week and will explore the Red Planet to collect rock and soil samples, which may preserve ancient signs of life. Join experts on #NASAScience Live Wednesday, July 22 at 3:00 p.m. EDT, to learn more about this robotic astrobiologist.

[Airicist]

Getting NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover to the Launch Pad

Jul 22, 2020

In February 2020, NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars by first traveling across the United States. The rover was built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and then carefully packed and flown to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. There, engineers integrated the rover with the spacecraft that carries it to Mars, and the Atlas V rocket chosen to send it on its way.

The launch period for the Perseverance rover opens July 30, 2020.