NASA's Perseverance rover (a.k.a. Mars 2020)

[Kyng]

Apparently, this probe is only three weeks away from reaching Mars:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55843377

Best of luck to them with the landing !

[Kyng]

Great news: it landed successfully !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56119931

Now, it'll be spending the next two years drilling rocks, for evidence of past life. I'll be interested to see what it can find!

[GrieferLord]

considering there is frozen water on the planet that life could have moved underground?

[Kyng]

considering there is frozen water on the planet that life could have moved underground?

I suppose it's possible - although, it'd have to be very simple life, otherwise I don't see how it could survive such an extreme change in environment!

Anyway, this rover has now sent back a clip of the surrounding ambient sound:



The content of the clip isn't especially exciting (it's just the rover humming with faint wind noises in the background) - but, it is our first ever sound clip from Mars!

[Kyng]

Well, apparently, the rover's parachute had a secret message hidden inside it :

It's some kind of binary code, which translates as 'Dare Mighty Things' - a motto used by the JPL.

Nice little Easter egg .

[Kyng]

Sadly, there's been a fault with the 'Ingenuity' helicopter, so its test flight has been delayed until Wednesday (or later):

https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicop...-april-14/

Let's hope it's something that's possible to fix remotely - and everything goes smoothly!

[Kyng]

Seems it was worth the wait, as the helicopter just had its first successful flight. It lasted for less than a minute - but, even so, it was the first controlled, powered flight to take place on another world:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56799755

Congrats to them - but, hopefully, the next flight will be longer and more ambitious!

[Kyng]

Well, it just tried to collect its first rock sample... but, alas, the rock went missing :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58148756

Hopefully they can find it, or at least take a new sample !

[SpookyZalost]

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-...from-above

so the Ingenuity Helicopter (gyrocopter?), that traveled with perseverance did get some neat pictures during it's recent flight, even managed to take a picture of the perseverance rover in the distance as it makes it's way to the flying scout drone.

this makes it's 11th flight overall and a testament to how it can be used to scout ahead of the rover and find better terrain and paths to travel as well as Points of Interest.

[Kyng]

Nice pictures there - and it's great to see this mission being so successful !

Also, it looks like NASA might have solved the mystery of the missing rock. The rock was simply too fragile - so it got ground up into powder:

https://thenextweb.com/news/nasa-explain...ock-sample

Let's hope they can find some sturdier rock for their next sample !