Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission by NASA’s Mars Exploration Program with a planned launch on 17 July 2020, and touch down in Jezero crater on Mars on 18 February 2021. The mission will have in regard the examination an astrobiological relevant ancient environment on Mars and investigate its surface geological processes and history, including the assessment of its past habitability, the possibility of past life on Mars.
To make sure that the rover is ready for its 2020 mission, it must undergo a thorough check. This is the reason scientists from NASA are at present testing the power system.
Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, was given the green light to start the power system test. The system is comprised of the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), and its duty is to provide the rover with energy and to heat it up during its mission. By conducting this test means that the team is on schedule with the work.
NASA Made More Progress With Its Mars 2020 Mission
The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator is a nuclear battery that so far has been used to power satellites, space probes, and even lighthouses. This kind of generator is used because it is one of the very few power sources that are stable, safe, and have a long life, without needing the sunlight to function. This means that space missions powered by the radioisotope thermoelectric generator can be planned for deep space quests.
At the present moment, the 2020 Mars rover internal devices and technologies are ready and assembled. The only thing that the rover is missing is the Adaptive Caching Assembly.
The rover is comprised of many scientific instruments, such as the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, the Radar Imager for Mars’ subsurface experiment, the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, a SuperCam, a Mastcam-Z, the SHERLOC spectrometer, the Mars Helicopter Scout, among others. NASA’s Mars rovers are the groundwork for the future crewed Mars missions.
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