After an
extensive review process and passing a major development milestone, NASA is
ready to proceed with final design and construction of its next Mars rover,
currently targeted to launch in summer of 2020 and arrive on the Red Planet in
February 2021.
The Mars 2020 rover will investigate
a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for
microbial life, probing the Martian rocks for evidence of past life. Throughout
its investigation, it will collect samples of soil and rock, and cache them on
the surface for potential return to Earth by a future mission.
"The Mars 2020 rover is the
first step in a potential multi-mission campaign to return carefully selected
and sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth," said Geoffrey Yoder,
acting associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington. "This mission marks a significant milestone in NASA's Journey
to Mars—to determine whether life has ever existed on Mars, and to advance our
goal of sending humans to the Red Planet."
To reduce risk and provide cost
savings, the 2020 rover will look much like its six-wheeled, one-ton
predecessor, Curiosity, but with an array of new science
instruments and enhancements to explore Mars as never before. For
example, the rover will conduct the first investigation into the usability and
availability of Martian resources, including oxygen, in preparation for human
missions.
Mars 2020 will carry an entirely new
subsystem to collect and prepare Martian rocks and soil samples that includes a
coring drill on its arm and a rack of sample tubes. About 30 of these sample
tubes will be deposited at select locations for return on a potential future
sample-retrieval mission. In laboratories on Earth, specimens from Mars could
be analyzed for evidence of past life on Mars and possible health hazards for
future human missions.
Two science instruments mounted on
the rover's robotic arm will be used to search for signs of past life and
determine where to collect samples by analyzing the chemical, mineral, physical
and organic characteristics of Martian rocks. On the rover's mast, two science
instruments will provide high-resolution imaging and three types of
spectroscopy for characterizing rocks and soil from a distance, also helping to
determine which rock targets to explore up close.
A suite of sensors on the mast and
deck will monitor weather conditions and the dust environment, and a ground-penetrating
radar will assess sub-surface geologic structure.
The Mars 2020 rover will use the
same sky crane landing system as Curiosity, but will have the ability to land
in more challenging terrain with two enhancements, making more rugged sites eligible
as safe landing candidates.
"By adding what's known as
range trigger, we can specify where we want the parachute to open, not just at
what velocity we want it to open," said Allen Chen, Mars 2020 entry,
descent and landing lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California. "That shrinks our landing area by nearly half."
Terrain-relative navigation on the
new rover will use onboard analysis of downward-looking images taken during
descent, matching them to a map that indicates zones designated unsafe for
landing.
"As it is descending, the
spacecraft can tell whether it is headed for one of the unsafe zones and divert
to safe ground nearby," said Chen. "With this capability, we can now
consider landing areas with unsafe zones that previously would have
disqualified the whole area. Also, we can land closer to a specific science
destination, for less driving after landing."
There will be a suite of cameras and
a microphone that will capture the never-before-seen or heard imagery and
sounds of the entry, descent and landing sequence. Information from the descent
cameras and microphone will provide valuable data to assist in planning future
Mars landings, and make for thrilling video.
"Nobody has ever seen what a
parachute looks like as it is opening in the Martian atmosphere," said
JPL's David Gruel, assistant flight system manager for the Mars 2020 mission.
"So this will provide valuable engineering information."
Microphones have flown on previous
missions to Mars, including NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008, but never have
actually been used on the surface of the Red Planet.
"This will be a great opportunity
for the public to hear the sounds of Mars for the first time, and it could also
provide useful engineering information," said Mars 2020 Deputy Project
Manager Matt Wallace of JPL.
Once a mission receives preliminary
approval, it must go through four rigorous technical and programmatic reviews -
known as Key Decision Points (KDP) - to proceed through the phases of
development prior to launch. Phase A involves concept and requirements
definition, Phase B is preliminary design and technology development, Phase C
is final design and fabrication, and Phase D is system assembly, testing and
launch. Mars 2020 has just passed its KDP-C milestone.
"Since Mars 2020 is leveraging
the design and some spare hardware from Curiosity, a significant amount of the
mission's heritage components have already been built during Phases A and
B," said George Tahu, Mars 2020 program executive at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "With the KDP to enter Phase C completed, the project is
proceeding with final design and construction of the new systems, as well as
the rest of the heritage elements for the mission."
The Mars 2020 mission is part of
NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Driven by scientific discovery, the program
currently includes two active rovers and three NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars.
NASA also plans to launch a stationary Mars lander in 2018, InSight, to study
the deep interior of Mars.
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