NASA Completes First Rover Mission On Mars

As previously covered, NASA recently landed a new rover, Perseverance, on Mars. Yesterday, they completed their first test on the red planet.

NASA operators mobilized Perseverance, traveling around 21 feet during a 33-minute timeframe. Pictures of tire tracks were sent back to Earth, indicating that the mission had been successful. 

Granted that analysts expect Perseverance to be traveling much longer distances in the future, this test’s success has considerable implications for the future of NASA’s project. This initial feat will soon pave the way for longer, more in-depth drives. 

Yesterday’s drive saw the rover move forward by 13 feet, turn to the left by 150 degrees, and move backward by another 8 feet. 

In the future, Perseverance will embark on drives across its place of landing, the Jezero crater, with the hopes of finding remnants about ancient life. 

As scientists continue considering what sustainability on Mars would look like, they must understand how past life forms could function. 

Perseverance’s success depends on its ability to collect data, most of which will come at the hand of an extendable metal arm, one that harbors various tools that will be used to collect and analyze ancient samples. 

However, even in the early stages of their effort, NASA has transmitted essential data back to Earth via Perseverance’s communication lines. Notably, in the form of weather data, exchanges of information between Perseverance and NASA have already been made. 

Similarly, the rover has sent a whopping 7,000 images back to NASA, many of which have been made public online. Future observations and plans are plotted based on these images, including a series of investigatable rocks and the remnants of a lake that existed 3.9 billion years ago.

Every day, space gets a little bit more understandable. Thanks to NASA’s research, the vision of companies like SpaceX, and the human mind’s curiosity, vast steps are being made towards understanding the worlds beyond Earth.