Perseverance (rover)

Curiosity's engineering team was involved in the rover's design.[1][2] Engineers redesigned the Perseverance rover wheels to be more robust than Curiosity's wheels, which have sustained some damage.[3] The rover will have thicker, more durable aluminum wheels, with reduced width and a greater diameter (52.5 centimetres (20.7 in)) than Curiosity's 50 centimetres (20 in) wheels.[4][5] The aluminum wheels are covered with cleats for traction and curved titanium spokes for springy support.[6] The combination of the larger instrument suite, new Sampling and Caching System, and modified wheels makes Perseverance heavier than its predecessor, Curiosity,[5] by 17% (899 kg to 1050 kg). The rover will include a five-jointed robotic arm measuring 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) long. The arm will be used in combination with a turret to analyze geologic samples from the Martian surface.[7]

The rover's generator (MMRTG) has a mass of 45 kilograms (99 lb) and uses 4.8 kilograms (11 lb) of plutonium dioxide as the source of steady supply of heat that is converted to electricity.[8] The electrical power generated is approximately 110 watts at launch with little decrease over the mission time.[8] Two lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are included to meet peak demands of rover activities when the demand temporarily exceeds the MMRTG's steady electrical output levels. The MMRTG offers a 14-year operational lifetime, and it was provided to NASA by the US Department of Energy.[8] Unlike solar panels, the MMRTG provides engineers with significant flexibility in operating the rover's instruments even at night and during dust storms, and through the winter season.[8]

Diagram illustrating the locations of scientific instruments aboard Perseverance.

Based on the scientific objectives, nearly 60 proposals[9][10] for rover instrumentation were evaluated and, on 31 July 2014, NASA announced the payload for the rover.[11][12]

• Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine the fine scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials.[13][14]

• Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface experiment (RIMFAX), a ground-penetrating radar to image different ground densities, structural layers, buried rocks, meteorites, and detect underground water ice and salty brine at 10 metres (33 ft) depth. The RIMFAX is being provided by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).[15][16][17]

• Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors that measure temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity, radiation, and dust particle size and shape. It will be provided by Spain's Centro de Astrobiología.[18]

• Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an exploration technology investigation that will produce a small amount of oxygen (O
  2) from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO
  2).[19] This technology could be scaled up in the future for human life support or to make the rocket fuel for return missions.[19]

• SuperCam, an instrument suite that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy in rocks and regolith from a distance. It is an upgraded version of the ChemCam on the Curiosity rover but with two lasers and four spectrometers that will allow it to remotely identify biosignatures and assess the past habitability. Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) in France, the French Space Agency (CNES), the University of Hawaii, and the University of Valladolid in Spain cooperated in the SuperCam's development and manufacture.[20]

• Mastcam-Z, a stereoscopic imaging system with the ability to zoom.

• Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds.[21][22]

• Mars Helicopter Ingenuity is a solar-powered helicopter drone with a mass of 1.8 kilograms (4.0 lb) that will be tested for flight stability and for its potential to scout the best driving route for the rover.[23] Other than cameras, it carries no scientific instruments. Its job is merely to demonstrate the practicality of flight on Mars.[24] The small helicopter is expected to fly up to five times during its 30-day testing and will fly no more than 3 minutes per day. It is a technology demonstrator that will form the foundation on which more capable helicopters can be developed for aerial exploration of Mars and other planetary targets with an atmosphere.[25][26]

• Two[27] microphones will be used during the landing event, while driving, and when collecting samples.[28]

• 23 cameras in total are included in the Perseverance rover.[29]

• Opportunity (rover)
• Rosalind Franklin (rover)
• Sojourner (rover)
• Spirit (rover)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Perseverance rover.

• Mars 2020 at NASA