There will be no funerals on Mars. NASA says Perseverance’s significant success is not in jeopardy

Rock samples from the Red Planet will be delivered to Earth on time as scheduled.

Some experts said the collected Martian rock samples, stored in titanium tubes and blasted to the planet’s surface, may not survive the impact of natural events on Mars. But NASA reassured the public that nothing threatened these containers, Space writes.

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Contrary to the fears of some experts, NASA believes that neither Martian dust, wind, nor terrible cold could damage the titanium containers in which the samples were contained. This is especially true for dust, which can theoretically “bury” these stores under a large layer of particles.

The thing is, as it’s already written in detail FocusThe Perseverance rover began preparing backup copies of Martian rock samples for their possible return to Earth in 2031.

The rover keeps the main titanium containers with the samples in its “personal” storage, but if it fails after 9 years and cannot deliver them to the Earth take-off place, these backup copies will be taken by two Mars helicopters. They will deliver them to a special landing platform, where the manipulator will pack the samples into a small rocket that will fly into orbit close to Mars and transfer this “package” to the spacecraft responsible for delivering it to the scientists.

But fears arose that these titanium tubes would become dusty during their 9-year stay on Mars, making them harder to find, or exposed to wind or cold. NASA said there is nothing to worry about and that the location of the first Mars “repository” is accurately marked on maps. As for dust, the wind in this area is not very strong and does not carry enough dust to store these containers.

NASA reminded that the Perseverance rover has been working on Mars for about 2 years and that dust does not affect the operation and performance of the instruments. But the real survivability in this regard can be demonstrated by the Curiosity rover, which has been collecting dust for 10 years and is still working.

However, sometimes Martian dust can still “throw” the spacecraft. For example, as previously written FocusIt was dust that caused InSight to die on the Red Planet after four years on Mars.

NASA also said that even a very large layer of dust still does not prevent the discovery of some important objects on Mars. For example, cables from the same InSight can be distinguished on the surface, even under a thick layer of dust.

NASA plans to have the first Mars samples (whether stored in the “womb” of Perseverance or stored on the planet’s surface) to be delivered to Earth as early as 2033. It all depends, of course, on the space agency’s funding and how successful the creation of the spacecraft needed to send samples to Earth will be.

Focus He has already written that the 37th year on the Red Planet has just begun and the New Year on Mars comes on December 26.

Source: Focus

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