Perseverance (Mars 2020 rover) - Atlas V 541 - Canaveral SLC-41 - 30.07.2020

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tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/mars-2020-stands-on-its-own-six-wheels
ЦитироватьOct. 25, 2019

Mars 2020 Stands on Its Own Six Wheels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zI9jMna4C8
This time-lapse video, taken on Oct. 8, 2019, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, captures the first time NASA's Mars 2020 rover has carried its full weight on its legs and wheels.

"After years of design, analysis and testing, it is fantastic to see the rover on her wheels for the first time," said Ben Riggs, a mechanical systems engineer working on Mars 2020 at JPL. "The whole team looks forward to seeing her in the same configuration on Mars in the not too distant future."

The rover's legs (the black tubing visible above the wheels) are composed of titanium, while the wheels are made of aluminum. Measuring 20.7 inches (52.5 centimeters) in diameter and machined with traction-providing cleats, or grousers, the wheels are engineering models that will be replaced with flight models next year. Every wheel has its own motor. The two front and two rear wheels also have individual steering motors that enable the vehicle to turn a full 360 degrees in place.

When driving over uneven terrain, the rover's "rocker-bogie" suspension system — called that because of its multiple pivot points and struts — maintains a relatively constant weight on each wheel for stability. Rover drivers avoid terrain that would cause the vehicle to tilt more than 30 degrees, but even so, the rover can handle a 45-degree tilt in any direction without tipping over. It can also roll over obstacles and through depressions the size of its wheels.

The Mars 2020 rover was photographed in the Simulator Building at JPL, where it underwent weeks of testing, including an extensive evaluation of how its instruments, systems and subsystems operate in the frigid, near-vacuum environment it will face on Mars.

JPL is building and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for NASA. The rover will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in July 2020 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

When the rover lands at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration with the ability to accurately retarget its point of touchdown during the landing sequence.

Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. We will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare to send astronauts to Mars.
...

2019-213

Last Updated: Oct. 28, 2019
Editor: Tony Greicius

tnt22

ЦитироватьNASA's 2020 Rover Moves into Mars Simulation Chamber (time lapse)

 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

7 нояб. 2019 г.

In this time-lapse video, taken at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, bunny-suited engineers move the Mars 2020 rover into a large vacuum chamber for testing in Mars-like environmental conditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SFh4TZRXHghttps://www.youtube.com/embed/7SFh4TZRXHg (0:38)

ОАЯ

Про испытания приемопередающей аппаратуры ни слова. Наверное все испытано на предыдущих роверах и все то же самое. Но вдруг радистов заперли в дальней комнате и про них забыли? Они стучат в дверь, но выйти не могут. А на ровере не поставили ни одного передатчика информации на Землю.

tnt22

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7539
ЦитироватьNOVEMBER 12, 2019
NASA's Mars 2020 Will Hunt for Microscopic Fossils


Lighter colors represent higher elevation in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The oval indicates the landing ellipse, where the rover will be touching down on Mars.
› Larger view


Color has been added to highlight minerals in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The green color represents minerals called carbonates, which are especially good at preserving fossilized life on Earth.
› Larger view

Scientists with NASA's Mars 2020 rover have discovered what may be one of the best places to look for signs of ancient life in Jezero Crater, where the rover will land on Feb. 18, 2021.

A paper published today in the journal Icarus identifies distinct deposits of minerals called carbonates along the inner rim of Jezero, the site of a lake more than 3.5 billion years ago. On Earth, carbonates help form structures that are hardy enough to survive in fossil form for billions of years, including seashells, coral and some stromatolites - rocks formed on this planet by ancient microbial life along ancient shorelines, where sunlight and water were plentiful.

The possibility of stromatolite-like structures existing on Mars is why the concentration of carbonates tracing Jezero's shoreline like a bathtub ring makes the area a prime scientific hunting ground.

Mars 2020 is NASA's next-generation mission with a focus on astrobiology, or the study of life throughout the universe. Equipped with a new suite of scientific instruments, it aims to build on the discoveries of NASA's Curiosity, which found that parts of Mars could have supported microbial life billions of years ago. Mars 2020 will search for actual signs of past microbial life, taking rock core samples that will be deposited in metal tubes on the Martian surface. Future missions could return these samples to Earth for deeper study.

In addition to preserving signs of ancient life, carbonates can teach us more about how Mars transitioned fr om having liquid water and a thicker atmosphere to being the freezing desert it is today. Carbonate minerals formed from interactions between carbon dioxide and water, recording subtle changes in these interactions over time. In that sense, they act as time capsules that scientists can study to learn when - and how - the Red Planet began drying out.

Measuring 28 miles (45 kilometers) wide, Jezero Crater was also once home to an ancient river delta. The "arms" of this delta can be seen reaching across the crater floor in images taken from space by satellite missions like NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars instrument, or CRISM, helped produce colorful mineral maps of the "bathtub ring" detailed in the new paper.

Video
Scientists from NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European Space Agency-Roscosmos ExoMars mission are in the Australian Outback to hone research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Planet in summer 2020. They are hoping to better understand how to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. The Pilbara region of North West Australia is home to "stromatolites," the oldest confirmed fossilized lifeforms on Earth.

"CRISM spotted carbonates here years ago, but we only recently noticed how concentrated they are right wh ere a lakeshore would be," said the paper's lead author, Briony Horgan of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. "We're going to encounter carbonate deposits in many locations throughout the mission, but the bathtub ring will be one of the most exciting places to visit."

It isn't guaranteed that the shoreline carbonates were formed in the lake; they could have been deposited before the lake was present. But their identification makes the site's western rim, called "the marginal carbonate-bearing region," one of the richest troves of these minerals anywhere in the crater.

The Mars 2020 team expects to explore both the crater floor and delta during the rover's two-year prime mission. Horgan said the team hopes to reach the crater's rim and its carbonates near the end of that period.

"The possibility that the 'marginal carbonates' formed in the lake environment was one of the most exciting features that led us to our Jezero landing site. Carbonate chemistry on an ancient lakeshore is a fantastic recipe for preserving records of ancient life and climate," said Mars 2020 Deputy Project Scientist Ken Williford of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the 2020 mission. "We're eager to get to the surface and discover how these carbonates formed."

Jezero's former lake shoreline isn't the only place scientists are excited to visit. A new study in Geophysical Research Letters points to a rich deposit of hydrated silica on the edge of the ancient river delta. Like carbonates, this mineral excels at preserving signs of ancient life. If this location proves to be the bottom layer of the delta, it will be an especially good place to look for buried microbial fossils.

The Mars 2020 rover will launch in July or August 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mars 2020 Project at JPL manages rover development for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

Mars 2020 is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads MRO's CRISM investigation.

News Media Contact

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1501
alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

2019-226

tnt22

https://nauka.tass.ru/nauka/7109201
Цитировать13 НОЯ, 13:47
Американцы определились с местом, где следующий марсоход будет искать следы жизни
Согласно планам NASA, новый марсоход должен будет добраться до Марса уже в 2021 году


© Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA

ТАСС, 13 ноября. Американские астробиологи и планетологи детально проанализировали рельеф и минеральный состав марсианского кратера Йезеро, где они планируют посадку следующего марсохода NASA. Они нашли большие залежи осадочных пород, в которых могут скрываться микроскопические следы древней жизни. Об этом сообщила пресс-служба Лаборатории реактивного движения НАСА (JPL).

"Инструмент CRISM зонда MRO открыл эти залежи карбонатов много лет назад, однако только недавно мы заметили, что они сконцентрированы в той точке, где находились берега древнего озера. Конечно, мы встретим и другие подобные отложения, однако этот известковый налет в природной ванной будет интереснее всего изучать", - прокомментировал одиз из специалистов миссии "Марс-2020" Бриони Хорган из Университета Пердью (США).

В декабре 2012 года представители NASA объявили о том, что инженеры агентства создадут еще один марсоход, пятый по счету. Он станет своеобразным наследником Curiosity, который совершил посадку на Марс в августе 2012 года. Согласно планам специалистов, этот аппарат, получивший имя "Марс-2020", должен будет полететь в космос в 2020 году и приземлиться в кратере Йезеро на экваторе Красной планеты в феврале 2021 года.

С технической точки зрения, этот марсоход будет полным наследником Curiosity. Это заметно удешевило и ускорило сборку ровера, чью стоимость NASA оценивает в 2,46 млрд долларов. Главной задачей "Марса-2020" будут не поиски следов пресноводных водоемов, как у его предшественника, а оценка обитаемости Марса в прошлом и поиски возможных следов жизни.

Для этого "Марс-2020" не только будет изучать свойства отложений осадочных пород, но и собирать их образцы в специальный "шкаф", установленный на его борту. Запасенные в нем минералы на Землю вернет специальная совместная миссия Европейского космического агентства (ЕКА) и NASA, которая будет отправлена к Красной планете не раньше 2026 года.

Марсианские озера и реки
Научные задачи миссии, как отмечает Хорган, заставили его команду и других ученых NASA уже сейчас приступить к поискам тех уголков кратера Йезеро, где следы древней марсианской жизни могли сохраниться лучше всего.

Как и кратер Гейл, эту выемку на поверхности Марса в далеком прошлом покрывали водоемы, однако в этом случае на его территории были не только озера, но и целая сеть из мелководных, но достаточно широких рек. Хорган и его коллеги давно изучают их дельту в надежде найти отложения глины и других осадочных пород, которые сформировались в результате движения воды.

Недавно американские ученые провели своеобразную перепись всех подобных залежей с помощью спектрометра CRISM, который установлен на борту зонда MRO. Их интересовало то, как далеко от русел древних рек и берегов озер расположены породы, в том числе карбонаты, гипс и глина.

Анализируя эту карту, планетологи обнаружили на северо-западной кромке Йезеро крайне интересные отложения карбонатов. Они расположены прямо на береговой линии древнего озера, которая существовала в этой части кратера в первые эпохи жизни Марса, когда его атмосфера еще не улетучилась в космос, а на поверхности находились большие запасы воды.

Это открытие сразу заинтересовало исследователей. Дело в том, что в составе аналогичных отложений мела и других минералов, которые содержат в себе кальций и формируются на теплых мелководьях, почти всегда есть следы микробов и других форм жизни. Кроме того, эти залежи содержат в себе гораздо больше карбонатов, чем другие скопления осадочных пород в кратере Йезеро, и заметно отличаются от них по составу и облику.

Это делает их главной и первоочередной целью для поисков следов марсианской жизни при помощи инструментов "Марса-2020", а также других марсоходов, которых планируют отправить на четвертую планету Солнечной системы в ближайшие годы, резюмировали ученые.
[свернуть]

Старый

Наконец то интересное место. 
Надеюсь аппарат заедет и в само русло и исследует берега.
1. Ангара - единственная в мире новая РН которая хуже старой (с) Старый Ламер
2. Назначение Роскосмоса - не летать в космос а выкачивать из бюджета деньги
3. У Маска ракета длиннее и толще чем у Роскосмоса
4. Чем мрачнее реальность тем ярче бред (с) Старый Ламер

aaa1

"Езеро" на старославянском языке значит "озеро".

tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/mars2020/2019/11/27/gearing-up-for-mars-2020-rover/
ЦитироватьGearing Up for Mars 2020 Rover

Danielle Sempsrott
Posted Nov 27, 2019 at 12:38 pm


The Spacecraft Assembly and Rotation Fixture (SCARF) that will be used to process the Mars 2020 rover is photographed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 22, 2019. Attached to the SCARF is an access stand that will allow personnel to reach the spacecraft when it's held above ground level. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Critical ground support equipment needed to prepare NASA's Mars 2020 rover for its journey to the Red Planet has arrived at a payload processing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rover is being manufactured at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and, once complete, will be sent to Kennedy for assembly, prelaunch processing and checkouts.


The spin table, one of the crucial hardware elements that will be utilized to process the Mars 2020 rover, is photographed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

One vital element of hardware involved in spacecraft processing will be the Spacecraft Assembly and Rotation Fixture (SCARF) and its access stand, allowing teams to reach the spacecraft when it's held above ground level. This fixture also is where all of the individual spacecraft elements will be mated together. Once assembly is finalized, the SCARF will rotate the spacecraft 180 degrees for encapsulation into the launch vehicle's payload fairing, where it will remain for launch.

Developed under NASA's Mars Exploration Program, the Mars 2020 rover is designed to better understand the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial life. The mission will collect and store a set of rock and soil samples that could be returned to Earth in the future. It also will test new technology to benefit future robotic and human exploration of Mars. About the size of a car and close to the same dimensions as the Curiosity rover, the Mars 2020 rover will carry seven different scientific instruments to conduct studies aimed at benefiting future Mars exploration efforts.

The rover is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, procured by NASA's Launch Services Program.

Антикосмит

Когда мы запустим какой-нибудь марсоход?
Ты еще не встретил инопланетян, а они уже обвели тебя вокруг пальца (с) Питер Уоттс

Старый

ЦитироватьАнтикосмит написал:
Когда мы запустим какой-нибудь марсоход?
Как американцы - через 30 лет после того как слетаем на Луну. :( 
1. Ангара - единственная в мире новая РН которая хуже старой (с) Старый Ламер
2. Назначение Роскосмоса - не летать в космос а выкачивать из бюджета деньги
3. У Маска ракета длиннее и толще чем у Роскосмоса
4. Чем мрачнее реальность тем ярче бред (с) Старый Ламер

Leonar

ЦитироватьАнтикосмит написал:
Когда мы запустим какой-нибудь марсоход?
"Казачек" ведь затаксует марсоход на Марс.

tnt22

Цитировать Michael Sheetz‏ @thesheetztweetz 6 ч. назад

Lockheed Martin delivered this "aeroshell" to @NASAKennedy yesterday, which will act as a heat shield to protect the #Mars2020 rover during the mission's descent to the surface.

Credit: @LockheedMartin


https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2019-12-13-Lockheed-Martin-Delivers-Mars-2020-Rover-Aeroshell-to-Launch-Site#assets_all
ЦитироватьLockheed Martin Delivers Mars 2020 Rover Aeroshell To Launch Site
Heat Shield and Backshell Will Protect NASA's Rover During Descent to Mars

DENVER, Dec. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The capsule-shaped aeroshell that will protect NASA's Mars 2020 rover was delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. yesterday. Built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE], the aeroshell will encapsulate and protect the Mars 2020 rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and fr om the intense heat as the entry system descends through the Martian atmosphere to the surface of Mars.

Because of the large mass and unique entry trajectory profile that could create external temperatures up to 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat shield uses a tiled Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) thermal protection system instead of the Mars heritage Super Lightweight Ablator (SLA) 561V. This will only be the second time PICA has flown on a Mars mission.


Lockheed Martin Mars 2020 Aeroshell
The aeroshell for the Mars 2020 rover was designed and built at Lockheed Martin Space near Denver and is comprised of two parts, the heat shield and the backshell.
Download: Hi Res

"Even though we have the experience of building the nearly identical aeroshell for the Curiosity Rover, the almost 15-foot diameter composite structure was just as big a challenge to build and test 10 years later," said Neil Tice, Mars 2020 aeroshell program manager at Lockheed Martin Space. "We've built every Mars aeroshell entry system for NASA of its 40 years of exploring Mars, so we pulled from that experience to build this important system."

Along with the Curiosity mission, this is the largest aeroshell/heat shield ever built for a planetary mission at 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) in diameter. In contrast, the aeroshell/heat shield of the InSight lander measured 8.6 feet and Apollo capsule heat shields measured just less than 13 feet.

The backshell and heat shield were transported from Lockheed Martin's Waterton facility in Littleton, Colorado wh ere they were built, to nearby Buckley Air Force Base. They were then loaded onto an Air Force transport plane and flown to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Recently, Lockheed Martin integrated the MSL Entry Descent and Landing Instrument (MEDLI2) onto the heat shield and backshell. Provided by NASA's Langley and Ames Research Centers, MEDLI2 will collect temperature and pressure data during the spacecraft's descent through the Martian atmosphere.

The Mars 2020 rover is in testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California., which manages the Mars 2020 project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The mission will launch in July 2020 and land on Mars in February 2021 at the Jezero Crater.

tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/mars2020/2019/12/18/mars-2020-rovers-heat-shield-back-shell-arrive-at-florida-spaceport/
https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2019/12/18/mars-2020-rovers-heat-shield-back-shell-arrive-at-florida-spaceport/
ЦитироватьMars 2020 Rover's Heat Shield, Back Shell Arrive at Florida Spaceport

James Cawley
Posted Dec 18, 2019 at 2:56 pm


The heat shield and back shell for the Mars 2020 rover are unboxed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 13, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Two vital pieces of equipment for the Mars 2020 rover were flown from Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, and recently delivered to the agency's Kennedy Space Center.

The rover's heat shield and back shell arrived at Kennedy's Launch and Landing Facility (formerly the Shuttle Landing Facility) on Dec. 11, 2019, and were then transported to the Florida spaceport's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, these two essential parts of the spacecraft will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy in mid-February, 2020.


The heat shield and back shell will protect the Mars 2020 rover during its passage to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

As the spacecraft descends through the Martian atmosphere, the heat shield will encounter extreme amounts of friction, creating temperatures as high as about 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The back shell contains several elements critical to landing the rover, including the parachute and antennas for communication. Some of these key components will be integrated in the months to come by the NASA-JPL team at Kennedy.

The mission is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, procured by NASA's Launch Services Program. It will land on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021.

About the size of a car with dimensions similar to the Curiosity rover, the Mars 2020 rover will carry seven different scientific instruments. Developed under NASA's Mars Exploration Program, the mission aims to search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

tnt22

ЦитироватьFirst Drive Test of NASA's Mars 2020 Rover

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

18 дек. 2019 г.

On Dec. 17, 2019, engineers took NASA's next Mars rover for its first spin. The test took place in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. This was the first drive test for the new rover, which will move to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the beginning of next year to prepare for its launch to Mars in the summer.  Engineers are checking that all the systems are working together properly, the rover can operate under its own weight, and the rover can demonstrate many of its autonomous navigation functions.  The launch window for Mars 2020 opens on July 17, 2020. The rover will land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrF5YwR-j24https://www.youtube.com/embed/hrF5YwR-j24 (0:59)

tnt22

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/02/nasas-next-mars-rover-will-soon-ship-to-cape-canaveral-launch-site/
ЦитироватьNASA's next Mars rover will soon ship to Cape Canaveral launch site
January 2, 2020 | Stephen Clark


The Mars 2020 rover inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility high bay Dec. 27 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

Fresh off its first terrestrial test drive, NASA's Mars 2020 rover was displayed to media last week at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California before it's packed up and flown across the country to Cape Canaveral in February to begin final launch preparations for liftoff in July.

The six-wheeled robot is similar in appearance to NASA's Curiosity rover, which has explored Mars since August 2012, but the Mars 2020 rover carries an upgraded suite of scientific instruments, plus mechanisms to collect, seal and store samples of powder drilled and cored from Martian rocks.

The rock specimens will be picked up by a future robotic mission to return the samples to Earth for detailed analysis. Scientists hope to find evidence of ancient life.

The Mars 2020 rover also carries a miniature flying helicopter drone, which will deploy after landing to become the first aircraft to fly in the atmosphere of another planet. It also features aluminum wheels with thicker skin and modified treads to avoid damage observed on Curiosity's wheels on Mars.

"Mars 2020, in the grand scheme of things, is looking for signs of ancient life," said Zach Ousnamer, a mechanical engineer on the Mars 2020 assembly, test and launch team. "We're going to land in Jezero Crater, which is an ancient river delta. Here on Earth, we know those are hot spots for life, so we're going to go to one on Mars in hopes of finding (life) there."

NASA invited reporters and photographers to see the Mars 2020 rover Dec. 27 inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Members of the media, clad in clean room "bunny suit" attire, were able to photograph the rover, the Mars 2020 descent stage, and the cruise stage, or the spacecraft that will ferry the rover from Earth to Mars.


The Mars 2020 rover at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

The Mars 2020 rover is about the size of a small car, measuring around 10 feet (3 meters) long, 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide and 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall, according to NASA. Those dimensions closely match the size of the Curiosity rover.

But the Mars 2020 rover is slightly heavier than Curiosity. NASA's next rover has a fully-loaded weight of 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms), or about 278 pounds (126 kilograms) more than Curiosity.

Engineers at JPL completed assembly of the Mars 2020 rover a few months ago, then put the craft through a series of tests to ensure it is ready for the trip to the Red Planet. The test team checked out the separation system that will release the rover from its sky crane descent stage — a rocket pack that will lower the rover on a bridle to the Martian surface — then placed the rover in a thermal vacuum chamber to expose it to the cold, low-pressure conditions it will encounter after landing on Mars.

On Dec. 17, the rover performed its first test drive inside its assembly building at JPL.

"Mars 2020 has earned its driver's license," said Rich Rieber, the lead mobility systems engineer for Mars 2020, in a statement. "The test unambiguously proved that the rover can operate under its own weight and demonstrated many of the autonomous-navigation functions for the first time. This is a major milestone for Mars 2020."

The Mars 2020 rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter) robotic arm carries an 99-pound (45-kilogram) turret package containing the PIXL and SHERLOC instruments, which will scan Martian rocks to determine their chemical composition and search for organic materials.

The turret also has cameras, which the arm can place against Martian rocks to obtain fine-scale measurements, and holds a percussive drill and coring mechanism to collect rock samples for eventual return to Earth.

The Mars 2020 rover also carries the SuperCam instrument, an intricate suite of sensors, including a camera, laser and spectrometers, designed to zap Martian rocks from more than 20 feet (6 meters) away to measure their chemical and mineral make-up, with the ability to identify organic molecules.

Developed by an international team in the United States, France and Spain, the SuperCam instrument is an upgraded version of the ChemCam instrument currently operating on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.

The instruments mounted inside the Mars 2020 rover's main body include MOXIE, which will demonstrate the production of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars, a capability that future astronaut explorers could use on the Red Planet. A Norwegian-developed ground-penetrating radar on Mars 2020 will study the Red Planet's underground geologic structure.

The mission also carries a weather station and 23 cameras, including the first camera on Mars with a zoom function. Mars 2020 also has two microphones to record the sound of the rover's landing, Martian wind and the sound of the rover's laser zaps, according to NASA.


The descent stage for the Mars 2020 rover. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

The next step on the road to Mars 2020's launch will be the shipment of the rover, descent stage and cruise stage to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The components will be transported from California to Florida in two shipments, with the rover scheduled to arrive at KSC in February on a U.S. military cargo plane.

The other major piece of the mission — the heat shield — has already arrived at the Florida spaceport. The nearly 15-foot-diameter (4.5-meter) heat shield, along with the Mars 2020 mission's back shell structure, arrived at Kennedy on Dec. 11 from a Lockheed Martin factory near Denver.

A team of JPL engineers will travel to Kennedy to assemble all the pieces of the Mars 2020 mission ahead of liftoff in July on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

The rover and descent stage will be packed inside the heat shield and back shell, the aerodynamic structure which will protect the robot during its scorching entry into the Martian atmosphere. The cruise stage will be mated to the Mars 2020 entry vehicle and then encapsulated inside the Atlas 5's payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy, then trucked to nearby pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for installation on top of the launcher.

Once on top of the rocket inside pad 41's vertical hangar, teams will add the Mars 2020 rover's nuclear power generator.

The launch window for the Mars 2020 mission opens July 17 and closes Aug. 5, when Earth and Mars are in the proper positions in the solar system to enable a direct interplanetary journey. The rover is scheduled to land on Mars at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.

The Mars 2020 rover will get an official name before its July launch.

NASA invited U.S. students last year to submit essays with their ideas for a name for the rover, and the space agency is expected to reveal finalists later this month, then announce the name selection in February.

Additional photos of the Mars 2020 rover, descent stage and cruise stage are posted below.


The Mars 2020 rover. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now


The Mars 2020 rover. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now


The Mars 2020 cruise stage. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now


The Mars 2020 rover. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now


The Mars 2020 descent stage. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now


The Mars 2020 rover. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2020/01/03/nasas-launch-services-program-prepares-for-upcoming-2020-missions/
ЦитироватьNASA's Launch Services Program Prepares for Upcoming 2020 Missions

Danielle Sempsrott
Posted Jan 3, 2020 at 9:01 am


An artist's concept of NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring the Red Planet. Photo credit: NASA

NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) is ringing in the New Year with three planned science missions in 2020, aimed at studying the Sun, Mars and our oceans. The first two missions will be launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, while the third will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
...

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is targeting to launch in July. Established under the agency's Mars Exploration Program, the mission will send a rover to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient microbial life. It also will help us better understand the planet's geology, collect rock and soil samples that can later be returned to Earth and test new technologies that could pave the way for future human exploration of Mars.

The rover is being manufactured at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in mid-February. The rover will launch on a ULA Atlas V 541 rocket, procured by LSP, and is expected to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.
...

zandr

https://nauka.tass.ru/nauka/7515215
ЦитироватьРовер "Марс-2020" получит официальное имя в марте
ТАСС, 14 января. Пятый марсоход НАСА получит официальное имя в марте этого года после того, как эксперты подведут итоги второго этапа конкурса среди школьников, который космическое агентство США проводит с августа прошлого года. Об этом пишет пресс-служба Лаборатории реактивного движения NASA (JPL).
"Этот ровер станет первой частью возвратной миссии на Марс, которая поможет нам совершить прорыв в астробиологии и других ключевых областях науки. Этот конкурс - хорошая возможность привлечь новое поколение к изучению космоса и покорению точных наук, а имя марсохода, которое мы выберем вместе с детьми, выделит его на фоне других наших марсианских миссий", - сказала руководитель планетологического отделения NASA Лори Глейз.
В декабре 2012 года представители NASA объявили о том, что инженеры агентства создадут еще один марсоход, пятый по счету. Он должен был стать своеобразным наследником ровера Curiosity, который сел на Марс в августе 2012 года. Новый аппарат, который неофициально назвали "Марс-2020", должен полететь в космос в 2020 год, а сесть в феврале 2021 года, в кратере Йезеро на экваторе Красной планеты.
В августе этого года специалисты агентства заявили, что имя этому аппарату выберут американские школьники. Для этого детям нужно написать сочинение на тему изучения Марса и отправить его в NASA. В общей сложности, как отметила Глейз, в первом этапе конкурса участвовало свыше 28 тысяч школьников.
Недавно эксперты NASA, в число которых входило почти пять тысяч профессиональных астрономов, астронавтов и других сотрудников агентства, популяризаторов науки и энтузиастов космоса, подвели итоги первого этапа конкурса. Они подготовили и опубликовали список из 155 полуфиналистов, только один из которых получит возможность присвоить имя "Марсу-2020" и поучаствовать в церемонии его запуска с космодрома на мысе Канаверал в июле этого года.
Как сообщает пресс-служба JPL, к концу января жюри конкурса подготовит и опубликует шорт-лист из девяти финалистов конкурса, чьи работы смогут оценить посетители сайта НАСА. Их мнение, по словам Глейз, будет учтено при выборе окончательного имени "Марса-2020". По текущим планам агентства, марсоход получит официальное имя в первые недели марта.

Поиски марсианской жизни
С технической точки зрения, пятый марсоход NASA будет полным наследником Curiosity, что заметно удешевило и ускорило сборку ровера, стоимость которого космическое агентство оценивает в 2,46 млрд долларов. Главной задачей "Марса-2020" будут не поиски следов пресноводных водоемов, как у его предшественника, а оценка обитаемости Марса в прошлом и поиски возможных следов жизни.
Для этого "Марс-2020" будет не только изучать свойства отложений осадочных пород, но и собирать их образцы в специальный "шкаф", установленный на его борту. Запасенные в нем минералы на Землю вернет специальная совместная миссия Европейского космического агентства (ESA) и NASA, которая будет отправлена к Красной планете не раньше 2026 года.

zandr

https://ria.ru/20200123/1563761913.html
ЦитироватьНАСА определило финалистов конкурса названия для новейшего марсохода

Ровер Mars-2020 и его полный набор камер  NASA/JPL-Caltech
ВАШИНГТОН, 23 янв – РИА Новости. НАСА представило в среду финалистов конкурса на название новейшего американского марсохода, запуск которого планируется на 2020 год.
Конкурс на название для нового марсианского ровера проводится между американскими школьниками, которым предстояло не только выбрать звучное название, но и написать сочинение о том, почему именно оно подходит для новой марсианской миссии НАСА.
На участие в состязании были поданы около 28 тысяч заявок, из которых в финал были отобраны девять: Fortitude, Ingenuity, Tenacity, Perseverance, Promise, Endurance, Vision, Clarity, Courage.
Теперь, согласно озвученным НАСА правилам, на сайте ведомства все желающие могут проголосовать за понравившееся название, а итоги конкурса будут объявлены в начале марта.
Все отобранные на данном этапе имена продолжают традицию НАСА называть марсоходы понятиями, наполненными положительным смыслом и позитивным настроем на будущее. Так, в настоящее время на Марсе работает ровер НАСА Curiosity. В 2010 году на Огненной планете завершил службу ровер Spirit, а аппарат Opportunity был активен до июня 2018 года.
Старт новейшего марсохода НАСА Mars2020 планируется на 17 июля текущего года. Планируется, что он совершит посадку в кратере Джезеро (Jezero) 18 февраля 2021.

zandr

http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/news/53022/
ЦитироватьNASA опубликовало шорт-лист имен для ровера "Марс-2020"
Определился список из девяти имен, одно из которых станет официальным названием для пятого марсохода, который космическое агентство США отправит на Марс в этом году, передает ТАСС. Список опубликовала пресс-служба Лаборатории реактивного движения NASA (JPL),  проголосовать за понравившееся можно на сайте NASA.

Вот список названий, вошедших в шорт-лист:
1. Endurance ("Выносливость"), предложено Оливером Джекобсом из Вирджинии.
2. Tenacity ("Упорство"), предложено Имон Рейлли из Пенсильвании.
3. Promise ("Обещание"), предложено Амирой Шаншири из Массачусетса.
4. Perseverance ("Настойчивость"), предложено Александром Матером из Вирджинии.
5. Vision ("Видение"), предложено Хэдли Грином из Миссисипи.
6. Clarity ("Ясность"), предложено Норой Бинитес из Калифорнии.
7. Ingenuity ("Изобретательность"), предложено Ванессой Рупани из Алабамы.
8. Fortitude ("Стойкость"), предложено Энтони Юном из Оклахомы.
9. Courage ("Смелость"), предложено Тори Греем из Луизианы.
 "Мы очень гордимся тем, что наш призыв привлек внимание нескольких тысяч школьников и экспертов. Теперь дело за публикой: любой человек сможет отдать свой голос за понравившийся вариант имени", - рассказала Лори Глейз, глава планетологического отделения NASA.
А.Ж.

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