Tag: marsrover

Mars Rover: Understanding And Applications

On February 18, 2021, we had a significant breakthrough in the realm of science, “perseverance rover” is now on Mars and is alive. So congratulations to all of us on this big milestone. We as humans should be proud of that mega event and the development in science we had. Let us understand the concept of the Mars rover.

Mars Rover:

Mars rover is an automated motor vehicle that moves across the surface of the planet Mars upon arrival. 

Let us now understand the history of the Mars rover.

History Of Mars Rover: 

This is not the first mars rover on mars, there were few of them in past. Let us understand them.

On July 4, 1997, the USA spacecraft launched “Mars Pathfinder.” This was the first rover to operate on mars. This was one of the best mission to the world of science. It was responsible for many technologies like airbags in cars and obstacle avoiding robots.

Pathfinder, Image credit ; NASA

On January 25, 2004, NASA landed “Opportunity rover”. The mission was to determine whether life could ever have arisen on Mars (focusing particularly on searching for ancient water) and characterizing the climate and geology of Mars. The rover is now not active, NASA on 13th February 2019 gave an official declaration that it is inactive.

Opportunity rover, Image credit : NASA

On August 6, 2012, NASA landed “Curiosity rover”. Curiosity was about the size of a small SUV. It is 9 feet 10 inches long by 9 feet 1 inch wide and about 7 feet high. It had all the advanced features ( special cameras, spectrometers etc.,).

Curiosity rover, Image credit : NASA

The recent success is the perseverance rover. It was launched on 30 July 2020 by NASA. With the rover, they have also launched a mars helicopter. This mission is to read the geologic history and look for any clues about past alien inhabitants. It will also select and cache rock samples that a future rover will fetch and return to Earth sometime within the next decade. 

Perseverance rover, Image credit : NASA

Perseverance helicopter, Image credit : NASA

Let us now Understand the applications of it.

Applications of Mars Rover:

  • The first rover helped us understand and invent airbags in cars which helped us save millions of lives.
  •  For determining the mineralogy, texture, and structure of the Mars territory.
  • The spectrometer is for identifying promising rocks and soils for closer examination and for determining the processes of the Martian rocks. The instrument is designed to look skyward to provide temperature profiles of the Martian atmosphere.
  • For close-up investigations of the mineralogy of iron-bearing rocks and soils.
  • To help us find extraterrestrial life on other planets.
  • In understanding the universe deeply.
  • To launch more satellites and other objects to improve GPS, cellular reception and other important things. 

In conclusion, this is one of the biggest achievement in the field of science.