In just 3 short months, the Perseverance rover has captured over 70,000 images, multiple
audio recordings and more than 4 videos of the Mars helicopter in flight.
Strange noises, undisclosed family portraits and relics brought from Earth are just some
of the things revealed over the first leg of this incredible mission.
This, is 3 Months on Mars.
18th February, 2021. The Perseverance rover makes history by recording it’s descent
and landing.
A coded message is hidden in the colouring of the parachute, which reads the phrase:
‘Dare Mighty Things’.
The heat shield is released, giving us a clear view of the surface.
The landing is fully automated; the craft is now checking for the best spot to land.
The sky-crane manoeuvre is initiated.
The video footage you are watching is currently being transmitted to the rover through a cable,
before the cable is cut and the descent stage flies away to crash land.
The Perseverance rover is safely on the ground.
This is the first colour image NASA receives.
We are now in the Jezero Crater, which is thought to be an ancient river delta.
It’s not just the rover that has landed on Mars, along with it is the Ingenuity helicopter
safely stowed underneath, and the names of nearly 11 million Earthlings.
On these 3 fingernail-sized chips, the names are physically written, not stored electronically.
This was done with the help of an electron beam, allowing the writing of very tiny features,
less than 1 micron.
The engineering team at NASA spend the next few days snapping pictures of all the systems
aboard the rover, checking for any damage caused during the descent.
During the following days, the team will begin to stretch out all the movable components,
leading up to the rover’s first drive.
On February 20th, the first sounds are obtained from the Jezero crater, using the Microphone
on board the rover.
At this point, the rovers mast – which the microphone is attached to – is still stowed
away, so the sounds are a little muffled. A little wind can be heard, but mainly we
can hear the high pitched noise of the rover itself.
This next recording has been filtered, allowing us to hear the Martian wind a little clearer.
The Perseverance rover continues to take images of itself and its surroundings.
A pattern is seen on the rover in some of these pictures. This is actually a family
portrait attached to the rover, and from left to right shows the rovers Sojourner, Spirit,
Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance, with Ingenuity the little helicopter at the top
right.
Here is an image of the portrait in preparation before launch.
On February 21st, or the third Martian day, Perseverance captures this full circle panorama.
The Jezero Crater is thought to be one of the most likely places to find evidence of
ancient life on Mars.
Perseverance has the ability to cache samples, which can be returned to Earth in the future.
This image shows the remnants of a delta, located 1.4 miles, or 2.3 kilometres away
from the rover. It is around 10 metres tall.
The team at NASA give the feature a nickname. ‘Kodiac’.
Now that most checks have been completed, it is time to start moving the rover.
This series of images shows Perseverance’s arm begin to flex.
Now that the arm is deployed, it’s instruments can be tested on a rock. The team at NASA
decide to zap a nearby rock with the laser, and even capture audio of the rock being zapped.
The rover’s Super-cam instrument also takes a close look at the rock.
The sounds of 30 impacts are heard, some slightly louder than others. Variations in the intensity
of the zapping sounds can provide information on the physical structure of the target.
On March 4th, the team wiggle one of Perseverance’s wheels. This set of images shows the wiggling.
There isn’t really anything else the engineers can test before the all-important first drive.
The first drive goes ahead on the same day.
Lasting 33 minutes, it is a resounding success.
The rover stops to take a look at it’s first tracks on Mars.
Incredibly, the microphone on board also captured sounds from the drive. Many people, when viewing
the images, don’t presume that the wheels are actually metal. But with this recording,
we can hear the bangs, pings and rattles from metal wheels rolling over rocks.
Also present in the recording is a high pitched scratching noise, which the team have yet
to explain.
In a second version of the recording, the team at NASA isolate the noise of the wheels
interacting with the ground.
Now that the rover is mobile, the team switch their full attention towards finding a spot
to deploy the helicopter.
It’s a complicated procedure which once started, cannot be reversed. They have to
be sure before beginning the process.
On March 21st, the debris shield protecting the helicopter is dropped.
Perseverance will drive away and leave it.
A site is proposed for Ingenuity to be deployed, and an area named ‘Van Zyl Overlook’ is
where Perseverance will retreat to, in order to watch the flights.
The whole deployment process takes about 6 days, with controlled explosions destroying
bolts that attach both explorers.
As soon as Ingenuity is deployed, we want our big friend to drive away as fast as possible
so the helicopters solar panels can keep the battery charged.
With Ingenuity successfully deployed, the helicopter’s camera can be tested and captures
this image.
Meanwhile, Perseverance takes a quick selfie looking at it’s little partner.
Perseverance will now retreat to ‘Van Zyl Overlook’.
The team must now test the helicopter blades.
Perseverance watches the nerve-wracking test.
Unfortunately, the spin test is concluded early, and NASA must delay the first flight
to investigate the issue.
To pass the time, Perseverance is evaluating whether nearby rocks at Van Zyl Overlook formed
during a volcanic eruption or from water depositing sediments.
The rover also captures this zoomed in image of Ingenuity’s solar panels. Dust can be
seen covering a portion of the panels, which could cause problems for the little helicopter.
The mission planners draw up 2 potential routes. However, the end goal of reaching ‘Naretva
Vallis’ is one everybody desires for Perseverance.
Even the visual look of that area supports the theory it was once an ancient river.
NASA now believes Ingenuity’s problem is with it’s software and hurries to fix the
issue.
Perseverance now watches a second spin test, which Ingenuity passes with flying colours.
On April 19th 2021, Ingenuity makes history by being the first vehicle to perform a controlled,
powered flight on another world.
This video, taken by Perseverance, shows Ingenuity hovering for almost 40 seconds.
To honour the occasion, NASA had made a request for a small patch of fabric from the first
plane ever to fly on Earth, to be included on the helicopter. The piece of fabric from
the Wright Brothers’ plane, has now flown on Mars.
NASA also renames the flight field to ‘Wright Brother’s Field’.
If the first flight wasn’t enough, on April 20th, or sol 60, Perseverance converts some
of the Martian atmosphere to oxygen. A toaster-size, experimental instrument aboard the rover,
called ‘MOXIE’, accomplished the task.
In one hour of operation, enough oxygen is produced to keep an astronaut healthy for
about 10 minutes of normal activity.
This method of oxygen production will be crucial when humans visit Mars. This experiment is
the first to prove the concept on another planet.
The team at NASA waste no time getting Ingenuity flying again, and on April 22nd a second flight
test is conducted.
This time, the helicopter goes a little higher, 5 meters to be precise.
This was also the first time the colour camera onboard Ingenuity was used, producing these
images from the sky.
The rovers tracks can be seen on the ground below.
During Ingenuity’s third flight, on April 25th, the little helicopter zooms out of the
shot. As confidence grows, the team are allowing Ingenuity greater freedom.
This image captured from the sky, shows our big friend, the Perseverance rover, watching
in the top left corner.
Meanwhile, Perseverance is busy looking at this hill, nicknamed ‘Santa Cruz’. It’s
located about 1.5 miles, or 2.5 kilometers away from the rover. The entire scene is inside
of the Jezero Crater; the crater’s rim can be seen on the horizon beyond the hill.
Incredibly, during the helicopters 4th flight, Perseverance recorded the humming of the blades.
The team at NASA put together this next short segment.
Up until this point, Ingenuity has been instructed to land where it started. However, for it’s
5th flight, the team decides to let the helicopter land at another location, one they had spotted
during the previous flights.
In this video, we can even see a dust devil forming behind the helicopter. This could
be caused by Ingenuity itself, or simply happening independently at the time of the flight.
This image, captured by the helicopter, shows it’s new landing ground, dubbed ‘flight
field B’.
Now that the flight technology has been fully demonstrated, Ingenuity will act as an aerial
scout for Perseverance, to help with the main mission of finding signs of ancient microbial
life.
From here on out, the rover will continue it’s journey on the vast Martian plains,
with Ingenuity by it’s side.
On May 10th, Perseverance uses it’s WATSON instrument to take a close up of a rock. The
team are still trying to figure out if these rocks are basalt, or if they were formed from
the movement of water.
It is currently unknown what the rover will find during the next 3 months, but we will
be here to document it. This video is the start of a special series following the Perseverance
rover as it makes astounding new discoveries.
Click here to see the next video in the series.
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