{"id":12327,"date":"2024-10-28T18:04:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T22:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-perseverance-rover-looks-back-while-climbing-slippery-slope\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T18:04:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T22:04:35","slug":"nasas-perseverance-rover-looks-back-while-climbing-slippery-slope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-perseverance-rover-looks-back-while-climbing-slippery-slope\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Perseverance Rover Looks Back While Climbing Slippery Slope"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s Perseverance Rover Looks Back While Climbing Slippery Slope<\/h2>\n

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6 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Image<\/a><\/figure>
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This enhanced-color mosaic was taken on Sept. 27 by the Perseverance rover while climbing the western wall of Jezero Crater. Many of the landmarks visited by the rover during its 3\u00bd-year exploration of Mars can be seen.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On its way up the side of Jezero Crater, the agency\u2019s latest Red Planet off-roader peers all the way back to its landing site and scopes the path ahead. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover is negotiating a steeply sloping route up Jezero Crater\u2019s western wall with the aim of cresting the rim in early December. During the climb, the rover snapped not only a sweeping view of Jezero Crater\u2019s interior, but also imagery of the tracks it left after some wheel slippage along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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An annotated version of the mosaic captured by Perseverance highlights nearly 50 labeled points of interest across Jezero Crater, including the rover\u2019s landing site. The 44 images that make up the mosaic were taken Sept. 27.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Stitched together from 44 frames acquired on Sept. 27, the 1,282nd Martian day of Perseverance\u2019s mission, the image mosaic features many landmarks and Martian firsts that have made the rover\u2019s 3\u00bd-year exploration of Jezero so memorable, including the rover\u2019s landing site<\/a>, the spot where it first found sedimentary rocks<\/a>, the location of the first sample depot<\/a> on another planet, and the final airfield for NASA\u2019s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter<\/a>. The rover captured the view near a location the team calls \u201cFaraway Rock,\u201d at about the halfway point in its climb up the crater wall. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe image not only shows our past and present, but also shows the biggest challenge to getting where we want to be in the future,\u201d said Perseverance\u2019s deputy project manager, Rick Welch of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cIf you look at the right side of the mosaic, you begin to get an idea what we\u2019re dealing with. Mars didn\u2019t want to make it easy for anyone to get to the top of this ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visible on the right side of the mosaic is a slope of about 20 degrees. While Perseverance has climbed 20-degree inclines before (both NASA\u2019s Curiosity and Opportunity rovers had crested hills at least 10 degrees steeper), this is the first time it\u2019s traveled that steep a grade on such a slippery surface.<\/p>\n

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This animated orbital-map view shows the route NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover has taken since its February 2021 landing at Jezero Crater to July 2024, when it took its \u201cCheyava Falls\u201d sample. As of October 2024, the rover has driven over 30 kilometers (18.65 miles), and has collected 24 samples of rock and regolith as well as one air sample. NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soft, Fluffy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

During much of the climb, the rover has been driving over loosely packed dust and sand with a thin, brittle crust. On several days, Perseverance covered only about 50% of the distance it would have on a less slippery surface, and on one occasion, it covered just 20% of the planned route.<\/p>\n

\u201cMars rovers have driven over steeper terrain, and they\u2019ve driven over more slippery terrain, but this is the first time one had to handle both \u2014 and on this scale,\u201d said JPL\u2019s Camden Miller, who was a rover planner, or \u201cdriver,\u201d for Curiosity and now serves the same role on the Perseverance mission. \u201cFor every two steps forward Perseverance takes, we were taking at least one step back. The rover planners saw this was trending toward a long, hard slog, so we got together to think up some options.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Oct. 3, they sent commands for Perseverance to test strategies to reduce slippage. First, they had it drive backward up the slope (testing on Earth has shown that under certain conditions the rover\u2019s \u201crocker-bogie\u201d suspension system<\/a> maintains better traction during backward driving). Then they tried cross-slope driving (switchbacking) and driving closer to the northern edge of \u201cSummerland Trail,\u201d the name the mission has given to the rover\u2019s route up the crater rim.<\/p>\n

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NASA\u2019s Perseverance drives first backward then forward as it negotiates some slippery terrain found along a route up to the rim of Jezero Crater on Oct. 15. The Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to capture the 31 images that make up this short video.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Data from those efforts showed that while all three approaches enhanced traction, sticking close to the slope\u2019s northern edge proved the most beneficial. The rover planners believe the presence of larger rocks closer to the surface made the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the plan right now, but we may have to change things up the road,\u201d said Miller. \u201cNo Mars rover mission has tried to climb up a mountain this big this fast. The science team wants to get to the top of the crater rim as soon as possible because of the scientific opportunities up there. It\u2019s up to us rover planners to figure out a way to get them there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tube Status<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a few weeks, Perseverance is expected to crest the crater rim at a location the science team calls \u201cLookout Hill.\u201d From there, it will drive about another quarter-mile (450 meters) to \u201cWitch Hazel Hill.\u201d Orbital data shows that Witch Hazel Hill contains light-toned, layered bedrock. The team is looking forward to comparing this new site to \u201cBright Angel,\u201d the area where Perseverance recently discovered and sampled the \u201cCheyava Falls<\/a>\u201d rock.<\/p>\n

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\"Tracks<\/a><\/figure>
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Tracks shown in this image indicate the slipperiness of the terrain Perseverance has encountered during its climb up the rim of Jezero Crater. The image was taken by one of rover\u2019s navigation cameras on Oct. 11. <\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The rover landed on Mars carrying 43 tubes for collecting samples from the Martian surface. So far, Perseverance has sealed and cached 24 samples<\/a> of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust), plus one atmospheric sample<\/a> and three witness tubes<\/a>. Early in the mission\u2019s development, NASA set the requirement for the rover to be capable of caching at least 31 samples of rock, regolith, and witness tubes over the course of Perseverance\u2019s mission at Jezero. The project added 12 tubes, bringing the total to 43. The extras were included in anticipation of the challenging conditions found at Mars that could result in some tubes not functioning as designed.<\/p>\n

NASA decidedto retire two of the spare empty tubes because accessing them would pose a risk to the rover\u2019s small internal robotic sample-handling arm needed for the task: A wire harness connected to the arm could catch on a fastener on the rover\u2019s frame when reaching for the two empty sample tubes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With those spares now retired, Perseverance currently has 11 empty tubes for sampling rock and two empty witness tubes.<\/p>\n

More About Perseverance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A key objective of Perseverance\u2019s mission on Mars is astrobiology<\/a>, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet\u2019s geology and past climate, to help pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet and as the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Mars Sample Return Program, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), is designed to send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.<\/p>\n

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA\u2019s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis<\/a> missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.<\/p>\n

For more about Perseverance:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/mars-2020-perseverance<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contacts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Karen Fox \/ Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

2024-146<\/p>\n

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