Nasa releases first audio from Mars
The United States space agency, NASA, released the first audio from Mars on February 22, 2021. It was a faint crackling recording of the wind that was captured by Perseverance rover.
Highlights
- NASA has also released the first video of landing of the rover.
- The rover is on a mission to search if there is any sign of past life on the MARS (RED Planet).
- The rover sent a high-definition video clip of about three minutes and 25 seconds.
- Video shows deployment of a red-and-white parachute having 70.5-foot-wide canopy.
- Video further reveals the heat shield is dropping away after protecting Perseverance while it was entering into the MARS’ atmosphere.
- It also reveals that the rover touched-down the MARS surface in a cloud of dust in its Jezero Crater which lies to the north of MARS’ equator.
Background
NASA had launched the Perseverance rover on July 30, 2020. The mission landed on MARS on February 18, 2021. The prime mission is of just over two years however it will remain operational beyond that. The Predecessor of the Perseverance, Curiosity, is still functioning that was launched eight years back on Mars.
About Perseverance
This rover equals the size of an SUV and it weighs a ton. The rover was also equipped with a seven-foot-long robotic arm. It comprises of 19 cameras, 2 microphones and a suite of cutting-edge instruments. The mission was launched with the objective of collecting 30 rocks and soil samples in a sealed tube that will be sent back to Earth in the 2030s for lab analysis. It will determine whether MARS was actually inhabited in the past. The first sample drilling will begin this year in summer. In the process, it will be deploying new instruments in order to scan the organic matter, zap rocks to study vapour and map chemical composition.
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Month: Current Affairs - February, 2021