The 3km he walked in a year changed the history of the universe[과학을읽다]

US Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’ Celebrates 1st Anniversary of Landing

[아시아경제 김봉수 기자] “The 3km ‘he’ walked in a year changed the history of the universe.”

The U.S. rover to Mars has celebrated its first year of landing. It is evaluated that it has opened a new chapter in the history of human space exploration, such as collecting Martian rock samples for the first time in history. In addition, it is achieving great results in various scientific experiments, such as the first successful flight to an extraterrestrial planet with the accompanying unmanned helicopter.

Created with a whopping $2.7 billion investment, Perseverance landed in the Jeze-ro crater just above Mars’ equator on February 18, last year and entered the mission. Their main mission was to search for traces of ancient life believed to be on Mars and the existence of water. Although they have not yet succeeded in this mission, they continue to make surprising discoveries by successfully collecting rock samples three times during their expedition for more than 3 km along a delta presumed to have been formed by the flow of an ancient river.

First of all, it was confirmed that the soil of the crater is composed of igneous rocks formed by cooling and solidification of rocks dissolved billions of years ago. Previously, scientists believed that the delta of Jezero Crater was made up of sedimentary rocks formed by water and wind deposition over a long period of time, but the results of the exploration are quite different. Since igneous rocks can be dated, scientists are eagerly waiting for them to be transported to Earth through a recovery program that will take place in a few years. For the first time ever, humans will be able to date the formation of rocks at specific points on the surface of Mars.

Perseverance also sent expedition results suggesting the existence of water. Drilling through the first rock collected in August revealed an internal structure very similar to that of igneous rock with holes surrounded by saline formed when water, commonly found on Earth, is absorbed and flows into the rock. These rock structures may have arisen from ancient volcanic eruptions and interactions with water. This means that it may be the result of a life-friendly environment that has never been discovered on Mars. Unfortunately, the sample was destroyed and was not properly inserted into the storage device. However, Perseverance succeeded in collecting and storing a second rock sample with a shape similar to the one that was lost a month later. NASA officials named the rock sample ‘Maaz’ and confirmed that it covered most of the crater’s bottom with zesty.

Afterwards, Perseverance moved to the southwest, bypassing the Seita Sand Dunes, and succeeded in sampling two more times. However, the sample here was also confirmed to be igneous rock, which completely shattered the expectations of scientists. Scientists have predicted that the Seita region may also be sedimentary, as rocks are observed to be composed of different layers. Perseverance also analyzed the chemical composition of these rocks and confirmed that they contained olivine and pyroxene. They are minerals commonly found in igneous rocks or volcanic areas on Earth. Scientists have found traces in the sample rocks that appear to have interacted with water over many years. The analysis suggests that it may contain organic molecules produced through abiotic processes, such as those found in some Martian meteorites.

Perseverance has collected at least 30 igneous rock samples, dust and air samples so far, and plans to store them in a specific location. By 2031, NASA plans to send another probe to retrieve samples and launch them into Mars orbit to bring them back to Earth.

Perseverance is now moving as fast as possible towards its target, the ancient river delta. Earlier this month, it moved 240 meters a day, setting a record for the longest distance traveled since landing on Mars. It is expected that after May, it will be possible to arrive in the delta to collect samples and transmit images.

Perseverance has about a year left to operate for future missions. It will now return to the initial landing site to collect additional rock samples, then turn around and bypass the Seita Sand Dunes area towards the delta. This speed of perseverance is much faster than the Curiacity, another rover that the United States sent to Mars in 2012 to probe the Gale Crater.

The hardship wasn’t too hard. Perseverance dropped small rocks collected in December last year while drilling, rendering some mechanisms in the sample collection equipment inoperable. NASA engineers were eventually forced to shake the fuselage slowly to shake off the small rocks. In recent weeks, strong winds from Mars have damaged the rover’s wind sensors by breaking small pieces of rock.

The unmanned helicopter ‘Insanity’ mounted on the rover is also playing an active role. NASA scientists originally planned to have Injury make five flights over 30 days. However, while holding on for a year, he is setting an astonishing record of 3.8 km in 19 innings. NASA will continue to use Insanity to look ahead to perseverance and to look at areas to be explored.

By Kim Bong-soo, staff reporter [email protected]