The rover will travel its first meters on the surface of Mars

The automated car Perseverance made its first flight on the surface of Mars NASA scientists reported Friday and EFE reports when traveling 6.5 meters, a displacement that marks the first milestone for this mission.

Two weeks after its arrival on the Red Planet, which happened on February 18th, the “rover” took its first steps on Thursday afternoon by moving a little more than four meters forward, then turned to the left by about 150 degrees, then finally returned. 2.5 meters.

“Our first flight went very well,” said Anis Zarifyan, an engineer at NASA’s Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is part of the team responsible for the persistence mobility tests. He added, “We are now confident that our payment system is ready to go, and capable of taking us to where the science takes us in the next two years.”

Members of the Rover Mission, which has a top speed of 0.01 mph (16 meters per hour), faster than its predecessor Curiosity, stated that once the perseverance fully begins its scientific investigation, it will make regular trips of about 200 meters.

At the press conference, team members showed up Pictures where vehicle paths are observed On the rocky surface of Mars.

Katie Stack Morgan, Deputy Worldwide for the Mission, announced today that the location at Jezero Crater where Perseverance arrived has been named Octavia E. Butler, in honor of the California-born science fiction writer of the same name.

As we explained today, in recent days, the vehicle has carried out software updates and various tests, including the deployment of two wind sensors from the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument, developed by the Spanish Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC).

Also, the scholars of the mission published this week for the first time Robotic arm length of 2 meters From the rover, for two hours they bended each of its five joints.

Deputy Mission Director Robert Hogg said they are conducting analyzes to determine the best location to place the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. He added that they plan to complete the first necessary tests and measurements before the summer before the helicopter can make its first flight into the Martian atmosphere.

In his first two weeks on the red planet, persevere Already sent about 7,000 photos It was captured by “the most advanced camera array ever to travel to Mars,” in the words of Morgan.

It may interest you

The persistence, which left Earth in July 2020, carries a device that converts carbon dioxide, which accounts for 96% of the Martian atmosphere, into oxygen, in order for astronauts to breathe on future manned flights and as propellant for rockets. Land.

The robot is tasked with searching for ancient life, taking samples, studying the geology and climate of the red planet, and preparing the way for a manned flight.