NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover found this image on its way to Mars, using its Parachute … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed safely on Mars on February 18, 2021 – and as it did there was a special message.
One of the most influential parts of the amazing video of his impressive trip to Mars was the rover’s red and orange parachute release, which NASA has just unveiled binary code that reads:
“Dare Mighty Things.”
What does that mean, where does it come from (clue: it was said by a politician in 1899) and why did NASA get into trouble with sending a message to Mars?
The parachute code says more than just that three-word phrase – and the rover also has a logo, 7 iconic images, 155 essays and 10.9 million names.
This is not the first time NASA has sent “secret” messages to Mars.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Why did perseverance need a supersonic parachute?
NASA’s Perseverance rover entered the Martian atmosphere in a protective rear shell equipped with a 70.5-foot / 21.5-meter diameter parachute.
While spanning 7 miles / 11 kilometers above Jezero Crater, to slow down the spacecraft from 940 mph / 1,512 kph, a parachute-up-look camera snapped some photos.
What was written on the Perseverance parachute?
Two messages were encoded in binary in an orange-and-white pattern on the parachute goat, one on the outer ring and one in spinning on the inner ring:
Inner circle: “Dare Mighty Things,” with each word on its own goat circle.
Outer circle: The GPS coordinates (34 ° 11’58 ”N 118 ° 10’31” W) are for NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where the rover was built and where the project is managed.
Here is the decoded version from NASA:
Using binary code, two messages were encoded in the parachute received by NASA’s Perseverance motion … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech
And this is what the parachute would expect. This image also gives you a better sense of the scale of a supersonic Perseverance parachute:
Pictured here in June 2017, the supersonic parachute design that will lead NASA’s Perseverance rover … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Ames
What does ‘Dare Mighty Things’ mean and why did NASA put it on the parachute
“Dare Mighty Things” is the motto of the Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, the center for the robotic study of the Solar System.
The phrase comes from a famous speech by Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, Governor of New York, in Chicago on April 10, 1899 in which he argued that hard work and overcoming hardship are what Americans must do. include:
“Thrice is a happy country with a glorious history. It is far better to deceive powerful things, to reap glorious rewards, even if deceived by failure … than to rank with those poor spirits who do not enjoy or rejoice. suffer a lot, because they live in a gray darkness that they do not know victory or loss. ”
The binary code pattern on the supersonic parachute was designed by Ian Clark, Mars 2020 Sustainability Systems Engineer at JPL.
There are “cal targets.”
NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
More messages on Sustainability
It will not stop there. To take proper color on Mars, the rover’s wide-angle Mastcam-Z cameras need to calibrate, so on the rover’s deck is a pair of small color reference targets. Named “cal targets” (pictured above) they help the Perseverance camera system to get Mars colors right in photographs.
However, between the color and the gray color there are seven small images:
- Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars orbit the sun.
- DNA sequence.
- Cyanobacteria (early microorganisms on Earth).
- Fern (symbolizing green plants).
- Dineosaur.
- Two people wading (reminiscent of NASA records) Pioneer and coded on NASA’s Voyager Gold Records).
- Space rocket.
The cal target also has a motto, “Two Worlds, One Beginning.” NASA’s previous rover, Curiosity, has one that says “To Mars To Explore” and was “Two World, One Sun.” at the old raiders Spirit and Opportunity.
So this is not the first time NASA has inserted code messages into its Martian hardware.
But NASA’s latest rover, Curiosity, has been leaving messages literally on the Martian surface for nearly a decade …
This image shows a close – up of track signals from the first test run of NASA ‘s Curiosity rover – and … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech
The ‘secret message’ on NASA’s Curiosity rover
When NASA’s Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012, it also delivered a message to Mars. In its path signals, shown above as bands just over the zigzag path signals, there is a repetitive pattern that says “JPL.”
Morse code is: .—- (J), .—. (P), and .- .. (L), which are printed on the six wheels.
It’s not just for fun. The Curiosity rover uses images of the repetition pattern to determine how far it has traveled and allows it to ensure that no wheel slip has occurred.
Perseverance also carries 10.9 million names
Two of NASA’s newest rovers also carry millions of names on microchips – from PR campaigns “Send Your Name To Mars” – with Curiosity storing 1.2 million names and Sustainability carrying 10.9 million.
Also on his small microchip are 155 essays from the finalists in NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay competition.
This wind-sculpted rock, seen in the first 360-degree view taken with the Mastcam-Z instrument, shows just that. … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / ASU
The latest from the Perseverance rover
Since landing, the rover has retrieved hundreds of images from a pair of cameras called the Mastcam-Z, 142 of which were used to capture a 360º panorama. It is so detailed that it is possible to get close to rock features on the horizon.
Many more images from Perseverance are expected to be posted by NASA in the coming weeks, months and years as the rover examines the lake’s old bed for signs of an old life. It will also collect rock and soil samples for return to Earth in the 2030s.
Perseverance is also carrying a small Mars helicopter, also known as Ingenuity, which was expected to take their first power flight soon.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.