What to know before Perseverance lands on Mars

mellowyellow

mellowyellow

Well-known Member
mars.jpg
This illustration shows the steps of the entry, descent and landing of Perseverance on Mars. (NASA / JPL-Caltech)

If all goes according to plan, on February 18, the wheeled robot the size of a small car will complete its six-month-long, 292.5-million-mile journey and touch down safely on the Red Planet’s surface.

Should it succeed, Perseverance will be the fifth NASA rover ever to land on Mars. The new rover, affectionately dubbed “Percy,” will scour the dusty, crater-strewn planet for evidence of ancient life and prepare the way for future human visitors.

NASA will livestream the February 18 landing on its Mars 2020 website beginning at 2:15 p.m. Eastern; the landing process is expected to begin around 3:38. Unlike the celebratory hugs and high-fiving in mission control after Curiosity’s landing in 2012, this year’s event will be more subdued because of the pandemic. Crew members at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, will be masked and limited to essential personnel to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus…………….

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Abigail Allwood is the first woman and Australian principal investigator on a mission to Mars.(Supplied: Queensland University Of Technology)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...rover-abigail-allwood-david-flannery/13149766
 

Aunt Marg said:
Have a read of this, Mellow.

https://www.popsci.com/article/science/why-thousands-people-are-willing-die-mars/

One article I read stated that between 30-60 days after landing on Mars, death would fall upon those on the mission.

It's also a one-way ticket, as currently, technology and advances don't allow for a craft to travel to Mars and travel back again.

Quite unsettling to think about.
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“The technology to get you back from Mars simply doesn’t exist,” Lansdorp said, stirring up his audience, and it may not exist even 20 years from now. “We need to do this with the stuff that we have today, and the only way we can do that is by going there to stay.”

So interesting, thanks Aunt Marg.
 
Aunt Marg said:
Have a read of this, Mellow.

https://www.popsci.com/article/science/why-thousands-people-are-willing-die-mars/

One article I read stated that between 30-60 days after landing on Mars, death would fall upon those on the mission.

It's also a one-way ticket, as currently, technology and advances don't allow for a craft to travel to Mars and travel back again.

Quite unsettling to think about.
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Back when wagon trains were taking people to the western parts of what is now the USA, the people they left behind probably thought similar about them. I can see somebody who sees little future in his or her current life, being willing to take a one way trip to Mars.

Besides, who wants to hire somebody to a job with much responsibility who is covered in tattoos? It would be far too costly and painful to remove them, so why not Mars instead? :cool:

Tony
 
Aunt Marg said:
I'm a space nerd through and through, Tony, so I can spend hours over the course of summer staring up in the sky and pondering the big question, who else is out there.
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I ponder that all the time when considering the state of politics here in the USA. Maybe that is why so many people want to go to Mars. They think things will be better there, not realizing they take their troubles with them. :ROFLMAO:

Tony
 
The picture in your opening post, mellowyellow, shows a
landing craft using a parachute and then rocket motors
to land softly, is there an atmosphere on Mars?

As for Mars one Aunt Marg, I doubt that people would all
be at each other because of the length of the journey, until
they find a quicker way to travel in space, I fear for any of
the volunteers, the journey at present takes 6-8 months.

Mike.
 
Mike said:
The picture in your opening post, mellowyellow, shows a
landing craft using a parachute and then rocket motors
to land softly, is there an atmosphere on Mars?

As for Mars one Aunt Marg, I doubt that people would all
be at each other because of the length of the journey, until
they find a quicker way to travel in space, I fear for any of
the volunteers, the journey at present takes 6-8 months.

Mike.
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Sorry Mike, I wouldn't have a clue.
 
tbeltrans said:
I wonder if Martians get as excited about our UFOs on their planet as we do about theirs on ours. :unsure:

Tony
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They laugh at our primitive technology.

Maybe this time they'll tell us where they hid all the water. We've found plenty of evidence that there was once an abundance of water on Mars including lakes and rivers, but it's all gone. Where'd it go?
 
Irwin said:
They laugh at our primitive technology.

Maybe this time they'll tell us where they hid all the water. We've found plenty of evidence that there was once an abundance of water on Mars including lakes and rivers, but it's all gone. Where'd it go?
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Some big bastid got thirsty. :ROFLMAO:

Tony
 
I compare it to the age when Europeans set out in not very big, wooden sailing ships on missions to explore the globe, once they discovered that it was not a flat disk. The voyages took years and there was no guarantee that anyone would survive the unforeseen perils of wild seas and diseases. Even so, driven by the lure of fortune and new knowledge, they set sail, one after another, until finally the would be settlers made the one way journeys, colonising unfamiliar lands.

Mars exploration began some time ago using modern technology. I am sure that one day there will be human explorers and possibly permanent settlers. At the very least, there will be manned bases, as there are now in Antarctica.

I love that this Rover is called Perseverence for this is a human characteristic that will be much needed when the first humans set foot on any extraterrestrial body.
 
Considering how long it takes to get there, we'd need to set up some living quarters on Mars before attempting any manned missions -- something where they could stay for at least a month before returning to Earth, equipped with oxygen, food, water, and Netflix streaming capabilities -- the essential life sustaining elements.
 

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