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NASA PLANS SOUPED-UP ROVER FOR MARS 2020 MISSION
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The rover for NASA'S Mars 2020 mission bears a strong resemblance to the curiosity rover currently exploring the surface of mars.
however it will have a number of improvements and instruments to carry out its search for signs of past microbial life on the red planet. A recent NASA press release described the rover as a souped-up science machine.
if everything goes as the space agency has planned the rover will have seven new science instruments, re-designed wheels and increased autonomy the new rover will also have a drill for extracting rock core samples as well as a caching system for sealing these samples and depositing them for a possible return to earth by a future mission
our next instruments will build on the success of MSL which was a proving ground for new technology said george Tahu NASA'S Mars 2020 program excutive these will gather science data in ways that weren't possible before
hardware for the mission is being developed at NASA's jet propulsion laboratory (JPL) in pasadena california both the cruise stage which will fly the rover through space and the rocket-powered sky crane descent stage were recently moved into jpl's spacecraft assembly facility.
the mars 2020 mission will rely heavily on systems and spare hardware already developed for mars science laboratory's (MSL) curiosity rover about 85 percent of the new rover's mass is based on what NASA calls heritage hardware.
the fact that so much of the hardware has already been designed or even already exists is a major advantage for this mission said jim watzin director of NASA Mars exploration program it saves us money time , and,most of all reduces risk.
the rover is being designed to carry a number of new science instruments to aid in its search for signs of ancient life on mars the rover will have an x-ray spectrophotometer can target spots as small as a grain of sand and an ultraviolet laser that can detect the glow of excited rings of carbon atoms. the rover will also be able to see beneath the surface of mars using a ground-penetrating radar capable of mapping layers of rock ice and water up to 30 feet (10 meters) below the surface
the mars 2020 rover will have 23 cameras many of which are upgraded color-capable versions of cameras carried by curiosity the supercam instrument on the mars 2020 rover is to curiosity chemcam. supercam can identify the chemical makeup to targets as small as a pencil point from over 20 feet (7 meters) away
our next instruments will be build on the success of MSL which was a proving ground for new technology, said george tahu NASA mars 2020 program executive these will gather science data in ways that weren't possible before.
As part of its mission objective to find evidence of past life on mars the rover will drill at least 20 rock cores and possibly as many as 40 for a possible return to earth by a later mission.
whether life ever existed beyond earth is one of the grand questions humans seek to answer said ken farley of JPL Mars 2020's project scientist what we learn from the samples collected during this mission has the potential to address whether alone in the universe.
Mars 2020 is scheduled to launced in july or august of 2020 atop atlas v 541 variant booster from cape canaveral air force station in florida if everything goes according to plan the rover should land on the surface of mars sometime in february 2021
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