Mars 2020 Rover Is Armed With a Powerful Laser

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Nasa’s Mars 2020 rover will depart for its journey this year, and the machine will be highly upgraded, not only with scientific tools but with a powerful laser. The laser was created for analyzing rocks and minerals found on Mars. The laser has a unique pattern, and its task is to scan and vaporize all the rocky matter in his way.

Once this procedure is done, it can analyze the remaining elements or chemical compounds. The laser has a power of almost 10,000 0C. This high temperature is transforming matters in plasma, and then with a high-resolution camera, it will determine what kind of compounds are in there. The process is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

The main task of this mission is to find any minerals that can lead to a life form. It is known that microbial life exists on Mars, so this laser will search for any substantial evidence to prove that no one was wrong. For example, a lake can be solid proof for the engineers and research team.

More about Mars 2020 and its laser

Another attribute that the laser has is to collect samples from the surface. The machine is equipped with a cartridge with limited space for samples. The process is pretty simple; if they don’t want to collect any sample that doesn’t give them anything, they use the laser and choose what sample the machine will collect. Pretty impressive, don’t you find it?

Along with a laser and a cartridge, the machine is equipped with a microphone, so the engineers can hear when the laser is hitting rocks or any solid ground.

The second “ability” that this machine has is to record any sound from the landscape. And it has design improvements that look more like a science -fiction movie. I hope that it will be a great discovery and I’m looking forward to what happens next.

Tommy’s hobby has always been playing video games. He enjoys competing in video games tournaments and writing about his experience. It’s not a big surprise that he mostly covers the latest trends from the gaming industry.