Technology
Nasa reveals stunning panoramic image of Mars’s Jezero Crater where Perseverance rover will hunt for traces of life
NASA has revealed a stunning high-definition panoramic image of the surface of Mars on its Instagram account.
The amazing scenery was captured by the newly-landed Perseverance rover.
Nasa captioned the image: “A new postcard from Mars.
“It’s glorious, it’s dusty, and we love it! This high-definition panoramic image from NASA Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z reveals the rim of Jezero Crater and cliff face of an ancient river delta in the distance.
“The panorama was stitched together from 142 individual images taken on Sol 3, the third Martian day of the mission (Feb. 21, 2021).”
The Perseverance rover landed on Mars last week on February 18.
This is the image in full[/caption]
This annotated image shows the impressive camera quality as a quick zoom in can show a wind carved rock in detail[/caption]
It’s currently at the edge of the 28 mile-wide Jezero crater.
Scientists believe the crater was once a prehistoric lake bed.
This is why the spot has been chosen for the rover to search for traces of ancient life.
It will look for signs of ancient microbial life in particular and take some rock and soil samples.
The $2.4billion robot is Nasa’s most complex Mars rover yet, sporting seven scientific instruments.
Perseverance is now sending data back to Earth via the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.
It takes photos, videos and other information roughly 11 minutes to travel through space to Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
A mission to retrieve Perseverance’s samples is aiming to take place in 2028.
They should be back on Earth by 2031.
Perseverance – What’s on board?
Perseverance boasts a total of 19 cameras and two microphones, and carries seven scientific instruments.
- Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL)
An X-ray “ray gun” that will help scientists investigate the composition of Martian rock.
2. Radar Imager for Mars’ subsurface experiment (RIMFAX)
A ground-penetrating radar that will image buried rocks, meteorites, and even possible underground water sources up to a depth of 10 metres (33ft).
3. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)
A bunch of sensors that will take readings of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, and other atmospheric conditions.
4. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)
An experiment that will convert Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. A scaled-up version could be used in future to provide Martian colonists with breathable air.
5. SuperCam
A suite of instruments for measuring the makeup of rocks and regolith at a distance
6. Mastcam-Z
A camera system capable of taking “3D” images by combining two or more photos into one.
7. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC)
From Baker Street to Mars: Sherloc contains an ultraviolet laser that will investigate Martian rock for organic compounds.
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In other space news, Nasa’s Perseverance rover revealed stunning video and audio recordings from the surface of the Red Planet this week.
Nasa has announced that it is accepting applications for wannabe space explorers who wish to fire their name to the Red Planet.
And, Elon Musk has warned that humanity may “self-extinguish” before we can colonise Mars.
What do you make of this Mars snapshot? Let us know in the comments…
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