Data from the powerful science machine includes the sounds of his laser moving a rock to test what it has done.
The first readings from the SuperCam instrument aboard the NASA Perseverance rover have arrived on Earth. SuperCam was developed in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and a consortium of French research laboratories under the auspices of the National Center d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The instrument delivered data to the French Space Agency’s operating center in Toulouse that incorporates the first sound of laser zaps on another planet.
“It’s amazing to see SuperCam working so well on Mars,” said Roger Wiens, lead researcher for Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. “When we first dreamed of this instrument eight years ago, we were concerned that we were too ambitious. Now it’s up there working like a charm. ”
“The sounds obtained are of amazing quality,” says Naomi Murdoch, a research scientist and lecturer at the ISAE-SUPAERO school of aerospace engineering in Toulouse. “It’s amazing to think that we’re going to do science with the first sounds ever recorded on the surface of Mars! ”
On March 9, the mission released three SuperCam audio files. Retrieved just about 18 hours after landing, when the mast remained stuck on the rover’s deck, the first file captures the faint sounds of a Martian wind.
The wind is easier to hear, especially around the 20-second signal, in the second sound file, recorded on the rover’s fourth Martian day, or sol.
SuperCam’s third file, from Sol 12, features laser zapping sounds hitting a 30-hour rock target at a distance of about 10 feet (3.1 meters). Some zaps sound a little louder than others, giving information about the physical structure of the targets, such as how hard they are.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to our international partners at CNES and the SuperCam team for being part of this important journey with us,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “SuperCam really gives our rover eyes to see promising rock samples and ears to hear what it’s like when the flames hit them. This information will be essential when we determine which samples will be deposited and finally return to Earth through our state-of-the-art Mars Sample Return Campaign, which will be one of the most progressive actions taken by humanity. ever. ”
The SuperCam team also received an excellent first dataset from a visible and infrared instrument (VISIR) sensor in addition to its Raman spectrometer. VISIR collects light seen from the Sun to study the mineral content of rocks and sediments. This device adds the Raman spectrometer, which uses a green laser beam to stimulate the chemical bonds in a sample to produce a signal depending on which elements are bonded together. , which in turn gives an insight into the mineral composition of a rock.
“This is the first time an instrument has used a Raman spectroscope anywhere but on Earth! ”Said Olivier Beyssac, director of CNRS research at the Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie in Paris. “The Raman spectroscope plays a vital role in identifying minerals to gain a deeper insight into the geological conditions under which they were created and to identify organic and mineral molecules that may be formed by living organisms. ”
More about the mission
SuperCam is operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the Body Unit of the instrument was developed. That part of the instrument includes several spectrometers, electronic control and software.
The Crann Unit was developed and built by several laboratories of CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and French universities under the contractual authority of CNES. Calibration targets on the deck rover are provided by the University of Valladolid in Spain.
The main goal of the Perseverance mission on Mars is astrobiology, involving the discovery of signs of microbial old life. The rover will mark the geology of the planet and the climate of the past, pave the way for human study of the Red Planet, and will be the first mission to collect Martian rock and regolith and accumulate (broken rock and dust).
NASA’s subsequent missions, in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and bring them back to Earth for miniature space. in-depth study.
The Mars 2020 Sustainability mission is part of NASA’s approach to Moon to Mars, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for a human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, built for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, and manages the operation of the Perseverance rover.
For more about Sustainability:
mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
nasa.gov/perseverance
Contact news media
DC Agle
Jet Dedication Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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Alana Johnson / Gray Hautaluoma
NASA Headquarters, Washington
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Sart Raphaël
Center d’Etudes Spatiales, Paris
+33 (0) 1 44 76 74 51
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