NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover is making waves by sending its first hi-resolution images of Mars back to Earth. Perseverance is the fifth Mars Rover and the most technically advanced yet. For the first time in history, the Rover recorded the sound of Mars’s surface; 11 mile-per-hour winds could also be heard. Perseverance had been traveling since July 30 of last year and touched down on the planet’s surface on February 18, 2021. The current mission is scheduled to last for two years. Perseverance aims to study information about the geological processes that created the crust and surface of Mars and how it evolved over time.
Past findings have also indicated sources of water on the planet’s surface. As far as the planet’s environment goes, it has been found to have seasonal temperature changes, polar ice caps, past volcanic activity, found to be very dusty and cold. The idea of life on the planet has been explored in the past. In the last few days, a 360° panoramic view using high-resolution photos of Mars has been constructed and made available to the public. It shows the planet’s surface and the environment in detail never seen before.
Some of the challenges that the Rover faced were things like making sure the equipment could survive the extremely harsh atmosphere of the planet. In fact, at one point, the Rover’s systems went into safe mode shortly after launch. Despite this, the landing was a stunning success, and the ongoing mission continues to be very fruitful.
What the future holds for Mars, mankind does not yet know. However, with technology on his side, we are very excited to find out just how bright that future could be. To see the panoramic photos in full, please click here.