1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to text Tuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Be there, and welcome to tex Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. And on February twenty one, 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: the Perseverance rover from NASA touched down on Mars successfully. 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: It was fantastic. If you didn't get to see the 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: video of all the people at NASA reacting to the 8 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: notification that in fact it had touched down safely, you 9 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: should watch that. It is joyous and so much fun. 10 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: And of course I immediately wanted to record an episode 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: about it, and then I learned as I started working 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: on that episode that I had actually already done an 13 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: episode about the Perseverance. I did it be for the 14 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: launch of the Perseverance back in July of twenty So 15 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: I thought I would rerun that episode to kind of 16 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: give you guys the rundown on the rover and the 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: technology aboard the rover, as well as some of the 18 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: parameters of the mission it will be pursuing. And then 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: on Wednesday, I figure we will do a follow up 20 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: and talk about some of the early stuff that we've 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: had a chance to see and hear from Mars thanks 22 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: to the Perseverance Rover, and an update on on what 23 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: the mission status is and when we can expect some 24 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: of those other activities to take place, the big one 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: being the flight of Ingenuity that will be coming on Wednesday. 26 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: But first let's listen to this episode recorded back in 27 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: July of about Perseverance. Now, at the end of July 28 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: twenty NASA plans to launch new rover on a journey 29 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: to Mars to continue the work of sojournal, Spirit, Opportunity, 30 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: and Curiosity, all of which have really extended our knowledge 31 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: of the Red planet. This new rover is called Perseverance, 32 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: and it really is something special. So today we're going 33 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: to learn about the rover and its mission, and also 34 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: a high risk, high reward experiment called Ingenuity that is 35 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: not technically part of Perseverance, but is going along for 36 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: the ride. However, before we do that, we've got a 37 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: lot of other ground to cover, both here on Earth 38 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: and on Mars, and I want to talk a little 39 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: bit about why I chose this as a topic in 40 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: the first place. First is timing. Obviously, this episode should 41 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: come out a couple of weeks before the scheduled launch, 42 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: assuming everything goes well. And another reason is that these 43 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: missions often reinforce things that I find really inspiring and 44 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: even hopeful. Transporting a spacecraft to Mars, let alone landing 45 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: something on that planet, and then using that something to 46 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: explore and conduct scientific experiments. That's a monumental achievement. It 47 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: requires so much work, and it builds on more than 48 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 1: a century of discoveries and theories. It's a team effort 49 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: in which hundreds of people pool their talent and expertise 50 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: to pull off what when you really look at it, 51 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: seems like it should be impossible. So while we have 52 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: tons of problems we need to address here on Earth, 53 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:44,119 Speaker 1: from dealing with the pandemic to addressing real social inequalities 54 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: and more, I look at how people have managed to 55 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: build devices that explore another planet, and it strikes me 56 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: that if we have the determination, we really can achieve 57 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: incredible things, we just need to apply that determination. Anyway, 58 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: here we go. As I record this, NASA has already 59 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: pushed back the launch a couple of times. So at 60 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: the moment when I'm sitting at this microphone, the scheduled 61 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: launch date is for July. Now, if that date should 62 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: slip for whatever reason, NASA will have a relatively narrow 63 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: window to launch or else face the reality that they 64 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: will have to shelve this project for more than two years. 65 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: So why is that. Well, let's imagine the Solar system. 66 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: Earth is the third planet out from the Sun, Mars 67 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: is the fourth planet out Earthen Mars revolve around the 68 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: Sun at different speeds, which means sometimes the two planets 69 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: are moving closer together and sometimes they are moving further apart. 70 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: In their respective orbits. Both planets have elliptical rather than 71 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: circular orbits around the Sun, which also means there's a 72 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: point in the orbit where each respective planet is closest 73 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: to the Sun. This is called the parahelion. And there's 74 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: also a point in the orbit where each respective planet 75 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: is furthest from the Sun. This is the aphelian oh 76 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: and also, both of these orbits are slightly tilted with 77 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: respect to one another, complicating things even more because they 78 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: don't lie in the same orbital plane. These three dimensional 79 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: realities are a real pain in the neck. All of 80 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: this means that when the planets do approach one another, 81 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: they aren't in the same spots in their respective orbits 82 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: as they were the last time they got close to 83 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: one another. The closest they've been to each other in 84 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: recorded history is about thirty three point nine million miles 85 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: apart or fifty four point six million kilometers, and at 86 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: that distance, it would take light about three minutes to 87 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: travel from one planet to the other, and that's the 88 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: fastest often the universe. Remember, nothing goes faster than light. 89 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: To even have that situation, you would need the Earth 90 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:11,119 Speaker 1: to be at its aphelian where it's furthest from the Sun, 91 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: and Mars would have to be at its parahelion, where 92 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: it is closest to the Sun, and both planets are 93 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: on the same side of the Sun. And this does 94 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: not happen frequently, at least not on human terms. That 95 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: thirty three point nine million mile distance happened back in 96 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: two thousand three, and according to math, that was the 97 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: closest the two planets have been for fifty thousand years. Now, 98 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: generally speaking, you do get two spans of time when 99 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 1: the two planets are relatively close to each other. But 100 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: because we're not just looking at orbital position, but the 101 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: shape of the orbits themselves, it's complicated, and those are 102 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: a lot of parameters that you have to have line up. 103 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: This scenario where Earth passes between Mars and the Sun 104 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: is called opposition, and we call it opposition because from 105 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: our perspective here on Earth, Mars appears to be exactly 106 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: opposite where the Sun is. As the Sun is setting 107 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: at night, Mars is rising in the east, and when 108 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: Mars sets in the west during the morning hours, the 109 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: sun is rising in the east. During opposition, Mars appears 110 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: as if it is a red star in the sky, 111 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: nearly as bright as Venus is. If it happens when 112 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: Mars is closest to the Sun, we call it parahelick opposition. Moreover, 113 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: the distance will begin to grow after that point as 114 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: the planets begin to move apart from each other due 115 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: to their different orbital velocities and elliptical orbits. So at 116 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: the extreme end, when the two planets are the furthest 117 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: they can possibly be from each other on either side 118 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: of the Sun. So the Sun is in tween Earth 119 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: and Mars, they are two hundred forty nine million miles apart, 120 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: or four hundred one million kilometers. At that distance, it 121 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: would take light a whopping twenty two minutes to travel 122 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: between Mars and Earth. Not that this really matters because 123 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: you also have a big old Sun in the way, 124 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: so you would actually have complications. This scenario is called 125 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: a solar conjunction. Now here's the thing. Because of all 126 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: the factors that I've described here, it takes a little 127 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: more than two years to go from one opposition or 128 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: one conjunction to the next one. And actually it's about 129 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: twenty six months. So Earthen Mars will get the closest 130 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: they can possibly be in their respective orbits to one another, 131 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: and then it takes another twenty six months for it 132 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: to happen again. Halfway through those tway six months, you 133 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: will get to the point where they are furthest from 134 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: each other and you get the conjunction. Now, why did 135 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,839 Speaker 1: I spend so much time talking about that, Well, it's 136 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: because NASA has to take all of this into account 137 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: when planning out emission to Mars. You want to minimize 138 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 1: the distance that your spacecraft has to travel in order 139 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: to get to its destination. Space travel is tough, man. 140 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: I mean, it requires a lot of fuel, and fuel 141 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: has mass, and mass means that you need more mph 142 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: to get out into space. So you can't just add 143 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: more fuel to a launch vehicle all willy nilly, because 144 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: just adding that fuel changes things. Moreover, you want to 145 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: minimize all the things that can go wrong while traveling 146 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: from point Earth to point Mars. One good way to 147 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: do that is to reduce the amount of travel time, 148 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: which means aiming for a time when the two planets 149 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: are going to be closest. Moreover, you don't just launch 150 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,319 Speaker 1: when Earth and Mars are close, because it takes about 151 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: a hundred fifty days or so for a space vehicle 152 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: to get from Earth to Mars under ideal conditions, and 153 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: these planets remain in motion that whole time. It's not 154 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: like they just stop. So if you aim your rocket 155 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: to where Mars is now, Mars won't be there by 156 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: the time the rocket arrives at that location in space. 157 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,679 Speaker 1: The best you can hope for is maybe a note 158 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: written by Mars that says something like sorry, I missed you, 159 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: and Mars is notoriously bad at writing notes, so instead 160 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: you have to aim at where Mars will be rather 161 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: than where Mars is. It's like leading a target. If 162 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: you were skeet shooting right a clay pigeon is shot 163 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: up into the air, you have to lead it a 164 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: little bit if you want to hit it well. This year, 165 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: Mars and Earth will actually be closest, not in July 166 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,679 Speaker 1: during the scheduled launch, but in October, specifically on October. 167 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: That's when the two planets will be thirty eight point 168 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: six million miles apart or sixty two point one million kilometers. Again, 169 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: not as close as they were back in two thousand three, 170 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: because they are not gonna be at the ideal points 171 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: in their respective orbits to be absolutely the closest they 172 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: can be. The last day NASA can launch a space 173 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: vehicle and take advantage of all this would be August. 174 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: If conditions prevent NASA from launching by that date, will 175 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: probably be waiting around two years before we get another opportunity. 176 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: This is also why if you look at the history 177 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: of missions to Mars, you'll see they hit pretty much 178 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: every two years or so. This is also why when 179 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: we talk about potential human missions to Mars, we typically 180 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: talk about a long mission that would see astronauts stay 181 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: on Mars for a couple of years, because it would 182 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: be too challenging to land on Mars, you know, goof 183 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: around for a week or so, and then try and 184 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: launch back to Earth because the distance would be mounting 185 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 1: between the two planets. We would need a mission where 186 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: we could spend an appreciable amount of time on Mars, 187 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: perhaps creating new rocket fuel on Mars itself. That way, 188 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: we don't have to carry a return trips worth of 189 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: fuel on our way there. That would be kind of 190 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: a deal breaker, because not only are you talking about 191 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: an enormous amount of weight, which again adds to your 192 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: concerns when you're launching the vehicle, it also represents a 193 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: massive hazard. You know, rocket fuel is dangerous stuff. But 194 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: we'll get more into that when we talk about one 195 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: of the experiments that Perseverance is going to do on 196 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: its mission. Interestingly, whether the launch vehicle takes off on 197 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: July or on August fifteenth, or any date in between, 198 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: the estimated date when it will enter service, that is 199 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: when it will land on Mars and establish communications from 200 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: the surface of the red planet back here to Earth, 201 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: that data is the same. It's February twenty one. So 202 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: if the launch does go ahead as planned, and I 203 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: really hope it does, it's still going to be a 204 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: while before NASA can conclude whether or not the mission 205 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: was a success or even just the initial part of 206 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: the mission is a success. Moreover All, this distance between 207 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: Earth and Mars means that any rover mission to Mars 208 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: requires a lot of automation, a lot of autonomy. The 209 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: distances here mean that at minimum, you're looking at around 210 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: six minutes between when you can send a command to 211 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: a rover on Mars and when you'll get a return signal. 212 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: That's if Earthen Mars are as close as they can 213 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: possibly be, and usually that's not even the case. We 214 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: don't typically have that right. Most of the time. Earth 215 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: and Mars are pretty far away from each other. When 216 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 1: the Curiosity rover arrived on Mars on August six, two twelve, 217 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: the distance between the two plants meant it took nearly 218 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: fourteen minutes to it signals from the rover. With that 219 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 1: sort of delay, it's impossible to manually control things, So 220 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: you have to create vehicles that can land and operate 221 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: on their own. One way to do that is to 222 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: design parachutes that deploy once the spacecraft or ejected rover 223 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: reaches a certain altitude above Mars. But the Martian atmosphere 224 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: is really thin. That's going to be important later in 225 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: this episode two In fact, the atmospheric pressure at the 226 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: surface of Mars is similar to what you would find 227 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: at thirty five kilometers of altitude here on Earth, so 228 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: that's a lot thirty five thousand meters above the Earth. 229 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: That air pressure is similar to the standard surface level 230 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: air pressure on Mars. To put it another way, we 231 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: measure atmospheric pressure and units called milla bars. Here on Earth, 232 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: the pressure at sea level is one thousand, thirteen millibars. 233 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: Mars is atmospheric pressure varies during the Martian year, but 234 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: it averages out to be between six to seven millibars. 235 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: That's it, So one thirteen here on Earth, six to seven, 236 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: not thousand, just six to seven on Mars. Now, since 237 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: parachutes work by forcing air into a canopy and then 238 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: effectively turning that canopy into a wing, you need atmosphere 239 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: for it to work. A parachute would be useless on 240 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: Earth's Moon, for example, because there's not enough atmosphere to 241 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: turn the parachute into a wing. Mars has an atmosphere. 242 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: It's then, but it's there. However, it is so thin 243 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: that parachutes can typically only provide a little bit of 244 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: the breaking and support during the landing. Process. So NASA 245 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: has used a few different techniques to get rovers on 246 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: the surface and not have them just break apart upon landing, 247 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: including housing rovers in landing craft equipped with air bags. 248 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: The air bags could help cushion the impact on the landing. 249 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: On Mars, the Curiosity roll or had a super awesome approach. 250 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: The rover was inside a descent vehicle, which in turn 251 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: was inside a larger uh structure. It was called the 252 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: Mars Science Laboratory or MSL, and the MSL had thrusters 253 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: on it that could make fine tune adjustments during the 254 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: descent phase in order to maintain the right orientation. That 255 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: also had a heat shield to absorb heat during you know, 256 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: entering the Martian atmosphere, and once it reached a certain altitude, 257 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: it deployed a parachute which helped slow its descent, and 258 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: then a little bit lower in altitude, the MSL ejected 259 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: a descent stage, so this was kind of a platform 260 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: with thrusters on it, and the rover was mounted inside 261 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: the platform and this would fire its thrusters, slowing its 262 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: descent further until it hovered above the Martian surface. Then 263 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: it lowered the Curiosity rover on a tether, turning the 264 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: descent v iCal into what they called a sky crane. 265 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: The idea was that the rover would touch down on Mars, 266 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: it would sever the tether to the descent stage, and 267 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: then the rover would be ready to go to work. 268 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: And here's the thing. This whole process from entering Mars's 269 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: atmosphere all the way to the point where the rover 270 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 1: touched down would take about seven minutes. But you remember 271 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,479 Speaker 1: the delay. It was fourteen minutes of a communication delay, 272 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 1: So the whole process took about half the time it 273 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: takes communications to go from Mars to Earth at this 274 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: point in the two planets orbits. So the whole process 275 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: had to happen without human intervention. And not only that, 276 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 1: a success would mean that the rover would actually be 277 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: down on Mars for seven minutes before we even knew 278 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 1: if it had worked. And it turns out it did work, 279 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: which truly is phenomenal. And I even did a special 280 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: podcast with Tom Merritt of Daily Tech News show Fame 281 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,639 Speaker 1: back when this happen in two thousand twelve. I remember 282 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 1: getting really emotional about this because when you consider the 283 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: innovation and inventiveness required to make something like this actually work. 284 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: It's really incredible. The Perseverance rover will follow in curiosities 285 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: um tire tracks and and that it's going to use 286 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: a similar strategy for e d L that stands for 287 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: Intrigue Descent and Landing, So it's also going to use 288 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: the skycrane maneuver in order to land. And this time 289 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: the descent vehicle will have a couple of new tricks 290 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,359 Speaker 1: up its proverbial sleeve. For example, it will have a 291 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:39,120 Speaker 1: set of tools called Terrain Relative Navigation or TRN, which 292 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: will scan the Martian terrain and allow the vehicle to 293 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: change its descent path in order to avoid any terrain 294 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: that looks particularly hazardous and that improves the chances of 295 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: a successful touchdown. And it's also going to have a microphone, 296 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: so we'll get to hear what it sounds like to 297 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: land on Mars. Plus if the rover wants to bust 298 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: out some David Bowie karaoke on the way down, that 299 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: microphone will come in awful handy. When we come back, 300 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 1: i'll talk more about the tools aboard the Perseverance, what 301 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: they are meant to do, and a bit about how 302 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: they work. But first let's take a quick break Perseverance 303 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: is about the same size as its predecessor, Curiosity, which 304 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: means it's the size of a small car. It weighs 305 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:33,639 Speaker 1: a bit more than Curiosity as well, has a mass 306 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: of one thous so here on Earth it weighs two thousand, 307 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: two hundred sixty pounds if we don't include the rover's arm. 308 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: The rover measures about ten ft long by nine ft 309 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: wide and it's seven ft tall. That's a three ms 310 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: by two point seven ms by two point two meters, 311 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: so it's a pretty big rover. Before we get into 312 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: the super per techie stuff and the goals of perseverance, 313 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: let's look at some other related things. For example, the 314 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: launch vehicle perseverance will depend upon the launch of an 315 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:16,399 Speaker 1: Atlas five one launch vehicle from the United Launch Alliance. 316 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: This is a two stage rocket essentially, and it stands 317 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: fifty eight meters or one ft tall when the payload 318 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,120 Speaker 1: is attached to the top. Fully fueled. With the payload 319 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: in place, the full launch vehicle ways five d one 320 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: thousand kilograms or one point one seven million pounds. The 321 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: five for one designation tells us a lot about the 322 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,919 Speaker 1: launch vehicle, as it turns out, so that five and 323 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: five four one refers to the diameter of the fairing 324 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: that holds the payload in place with the launch vehicle. 325 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: So in this case, the spacecraft that will hold the 326 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: perseverance and this fairing is five meters in diameter. That's 327 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: what that five means. So what's the four and five 328 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: or one mean? Well, that tells us how many solid 329 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 1: fuel rocket boosters are part of this launch vehicle. So 330 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,200 Speaker 1: there are four solid fuel rocket boosters, and the one 331 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,160 Speaker 1: tells us how many rocket engines are in the second stage. 332 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: This is called the centaur, and there are single engine 333 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: centaurs and dual engine centaurs, so this one is a 334 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 1: single engine centaur. The first stages rocket engine is called 335 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: the r D one eight and this one was made 336 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: in Russia. The engine burns a fuel made of kerosene 337 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: and liquid oxygen. The second stage centaur uses fuel made 338 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which must be kept 339 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: at very low temperatures to remain liquid, and for that 340 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: reason they are called cryogenic propellants. So at launch, the 341 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: boosters and rocket engine for the first stage will carry 342 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 1: the vehicle up to a certain altitude and that's where 343 00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: the first stage will separate from the rest of the 344 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: val the first stage will fall back to Earth. The 345 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: second stage ignites and propels the spacecraft out to its 346 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,880 Speaker 1: trajectory to bring it on an intercept course with Mars, 347 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: and then it separates from the launch vehicle and then 348 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: Perseverance aboard its spacecraft will be on its way on 349 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 1: its very long trip out to Mars. So, assuming everything 350 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,919 Speaker 1: goes as planned, Perseverance will touch down on Mars in 351 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: February twenty one thanks to the skycrane maneuver. If things 352 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: don't go as planned, uh, I mean I don't know, 353 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: I mean if it if it doesn't launch by August fifteen, 354 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: there's a real question of whether or not the project 355 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: can be put on hold for two years. And if 356 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,879 Speaker 1: something goes wrong, well, I guess you know, the mission 357 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: scrapped and stuff can go wrong, because space, as it 358 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 1: turns out, is super hard. I mean, like that thing 359 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: is trying to kill you. But let's say it all 360 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,479 Speaker 1: goes to plan and the rover makes it to Mars. 361 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: What is it going to do when it's there. Well, 362 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: NASA says the mission will last at least one year 363 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,399 Speaker 1: on Mars. That is one Martian year. That's equal to 364 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,680 Speaker 1: six hundred eighty seven Earth days, so nearly two full 365 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: Earth years. If the mission is a success, we may 366 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: well see the experiments stretch on much longer than that. 367 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: The Opportunity mission was only intended to last for ninety days, 368 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: but it was able to continue for nearly fifteen years. 369 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: But what is Perseverance going to do when it's up 370 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: there all that time. The overall program Perseverance as part 371 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,679 Speaker 1: of is called the Mars Exploration Program or m e P, 372 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: and one of the primary goals of m e P 373 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: is to look for signs of life, most likely signs 374 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,679 Speaker 1: that life once existed on Mars thousands and thousands and 375 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: millions of years ago. But boy, it really would be 376 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: cool if we found evidence of microbial life on Mars today. 377 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,200 Speaker 1: NASA has laid out four science objectives that Perseverance will 378 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,119 Speaker 1: pursue in an effort to further of this goal. The 379 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: four objectives are looking for habitability, that is, seeking out 380 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: areas that could have supported microbial life in the ancient past, 381 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: seeking bio signatures, so looking for evidence that microbial life 382 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,159 Speaker 1: actually did exist in these habitable environments, such as in 383 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: signs and the rocks themselves cashing samples. This is all 384 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:28,359 Speaker 1: about collecting and analyzing rock and soil samples and preparing 385 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,360 Speaker 1: for humans which will take on the super cool challenge 386 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: of producing oxygen on Mars. Now we'll dive into these 387 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: more in a moment, but in addition to the four 388 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: primary objectives, Perseverance will also study the seasons on Mars 389 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: and how weather patterns change, including stuff like dust storms. 390 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,640 Speaker 1: It will be building on our understanding of Mars, which 391 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: will be critical if we ever do actually want to 392 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,959 Speaker 1: send astronauts there or columnists. So a lot of what 393 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,679 Speaker 1: Perseverance will be doing sets the st age for future 394 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: missions with actual humans on Mars. NASA is going about 395 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,880 Speaker 1: this in a very methodical way. And I say that 396 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: because I'm sure at least some of you remember the 397 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: private organization called Mars One that had the stated goal 398 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,360 Speaker 1: of establishing a permanent colony on Mars. The Mars One 399 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: plan was to create habitats on the planet, or technically 400 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 1: under the surface of the planet, because Mars doesn't have 401 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: the same protective measures as Earth does when it comes 402 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: to deflecting harmful radiation and particles from stuff like you know, 403 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,680 Speaker 1: the Sun, and the Mars one plan didn't have anything 404 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 1: in it about coming back to Earth. This was a 405 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,479 Speaker 1: one way trip. The organization was founded in two thousand eleven. 406 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: It attempted to raise money from investors and through an 407 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: application process in which people would vie to be considered 408 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: as astronauts for this mission, but it ultimately didn't go anywhere, 409 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: and that, by the way, is a big strike against 410 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: space exploration. Typically in space exploration, you gotta go somewhere, right. 411 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: So the owners ended up liquidating the organization in early 412 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen. Some people think the whole thing was 413 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: nothing more than a scam. Now. I don't know if 414 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: the founders intentionally set out to mislead people or not, 415 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: but I was certainly skeptical of the efforts, as it 416 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:28,360 Speaker 1: seemed to be taking a lot of assumptions as concrete facts, 417 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: and that's dangerous. Now, that's not the case with NASA's approach. 418 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: It's always dangerous. Space is always dangerous, But they're not 419 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: taking assumptions as fact. Their approach is to build a 420 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: foundation of knowledge upon which future missions will continue to build, 421 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 1: with the hopeful goal of one day having astronauts themselves 422 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: set foot on Mars. But NASA is not quite as 423 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 1: cavalier as the Mars one plan. So let's start with 424 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: the analysis of Mars and the search for life. Then 425 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 1: we'll move on to the components that have more to 426 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,959 Speaker 1: do with laying the groundwork for human exploration in the 427 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,640 Speaker 1: distant future. And then we have the issue of ingenuity 428 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: to talk about, but that's for a kicker at the end. 429 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: One of the things Perseverance has that Curiosity doesn't have 430 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: is a drill. So Perseverance will be able to drill 431 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 1: into soil and rocks on Mars to collect samples for analysis. 432 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,440 Speaker 1: The drill is on the rover's big arm, but a 433 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: smaller arm actually plays a part in this too. It 434 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,399 Speaker 1: can supply sample tools to the drill, so as the 435 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: drill is working, the soil and rock that it ends 436 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 1: up removing can be collected in one of these tubes. 437 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: Then the little arm can take that tube full of 438 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 1: material and store it back on the rover. At the 439 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: end of this the rover will store certain rocks and 440 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: soil samples, very specific ones, ones that the team back 441 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: on Earth have identified as being petit recularly interesting. It'll 442 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,919 Speaker 1: store a collection of these in a cash that's intended 443 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: for later retrieval and the idea that these would someday 444 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: be returned to Earth. I'll talk about that at the 445 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: end of this episode. Now, this mission itself lacks the 446 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,919 Speaker 1: ability to come back. There's nothing about the Perseverance mission 447 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,359 Speaker 1: that allows them to return to Earth, so this will 448 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,199 Speaker 1: have to wait for a future mission. The plan is 449 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,640 Speaker 1: to collect at least twenty samples. However, the rover does 450 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 1: have enough equipment to collect as many as forty three. Now, 451 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: along with the forty three sample tubes, the rover will 452 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: also carry five special tubes called witness tubes. The purpose 453 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: for these is to make sure that the stuff Perseverance 454 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: is finding is actually coming from Mars. See. One of 455 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 1: the risks of this kind of exploration is that our 456 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 1: equipment might unwittingly introduce stuff from Earth into Mars, and 457 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: if that stuff happens to be organic in nature, like 458 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: it happens to be the same as an organic marker, 459 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 1: it could mean that any evidence we find that suggests 460 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: life was once on Mars could actually be a total 461 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: red herring, because it could turn out that the organic 462 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: material actually came from Earth in the first place and 463 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: was unwittingly released on Mars. It's kind of like one 464 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: of those movies where you've got a crooked cop who 465 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: drops a bag of incriminating material right in front of 466 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: a suspect and says, well, why do we have here? 467 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: Looks like we've got some evidence, except, of course, the 468 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: rover wouldn't be doing this on purpose. It's not a scuzzy, 469 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: you know, bad cop type. The witness tubes can capture 470 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: contaminants and allow researchers on Earth to discern whether the 471 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: stuff that was collected on Mars actually is totally Martian 472 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: in origin, or if it has some contaminants that were 473 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: accidentally brought by Perseverance. So they can do that if 474 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: those tubes ever find their way back to Earth, so 475 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: this is also part of that long term deal. The 476 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: rover will hermetically seal all the sample tubes and store 477 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: it temporarily in the rover itself, but eventually the team 478 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: will determine a location where the rover will store all 479 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 1: of these tubes called the Sample cash Depot, and this 480 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: is where they will stay until a future mission can 481 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: pick them up and bring them back home to Earth. 482 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: There are seven major scientific instruments aboard the Perseverance so 483 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: let's go through those. First up is the Masked cam Z, 484 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: a camera mounted on a vertical pole, thus the term mast, 485 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 1: and this is near the center of the rover. The 486 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: camera has a panoramic camera as well as a stereoscopic 487 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: imaging camera, so it can take really wide shots of 488 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: the horizon, or it can use its stereoscopic lenses to 489 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: capture three dimensional images on Mars's surface. Now, not only 490 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: will this camera be used to take lovely photos and 491 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: to help the team on Earth determine where to send 492 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: the rover, it also can help engine years back on 493 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: Earth learn more about the mineralogy of Mars' surface. Next, 494 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: we have the Supercam, which by day is a mild 495 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: mannered photographer for the Daily Planet. Wait, sorry, no, I 496 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 1: I meant that it's a camera intended to analyze the 497 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: chemical composition of stuff on Mars at a distance. Then 498 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: you've got pixel p I x L that actually stands 499 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: for Planetary Instrument for X ray litho chemistry. And if 500 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: you're wondering what litho chemistry is, you're not alone, because 501 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: I don't think I have ever seen that word ever 502 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,320 Speaker 1: before I started researching this episode. In fact, as I 503 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: was researching the term. The only time I was seeing 504 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: any instance of litho chemistry as a word was in 505 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: reference to pixel itself, and this annoys me. I mean, NASA, 506 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: if you're going to use cute acronyms for your tools, 507 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,360 Speaker 1: you can't just get around the inconvenience of not having 508 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,440 Speaker 1: the correct letters by making up a word. But let's 509 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: suss it out. So litho means stone. Now it all 510 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: makes sense, right. Litho chemistry means the chemical makeup of 511 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: stones on Mars in this case, And this device uses 512 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: X rays in order to really study the stones around 513 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,360 Speaker 1: the rover. X rays have a shorter wavelength and carry 514 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,360 Speaker 1: way more energy than the visible light spectrum does. The 515 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: pixel has a spectrometer, which is a device that measures 516 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: the spectral components of something. And now this isn't about 517 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: specters like ghosts or something. This is more about a spectrum, 518 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: you know, like the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation or the 519 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 1: spectrum of visible light. So they measure a continuous variable 520 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,400 Speaker 1: of some sort, and the pixel measures the electromagnetic radiation 521 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: that's reflected off of various materials on Mars, which then 522 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: tells us more about what those materials are made of. 523 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: Then you've got these scanning habitable environments with Raymond luminescence 524 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:09,280 Speaker 1: for organics and chemicals. And this is a really cute acronym. 525 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: The acronym is share Lock. This is another spectrometer, but 526 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: rather than X rays, this one uses an ultraviolet laser. Now, 527 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: like X rays, ultra violet waves are shorter in wavelength 528 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,600 Speaker 1: and higher in energy than the visible spectrum, but they 529 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 1: don't penetrate as far as X rays do. The spectrometer 530 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: will also measure the composition of materials on Mars and 531 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: search for the presence of organic compounds. It also has 532 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: a high resolution camera for microscopic imaging, so that's pretty neat. 533 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:45,320 Speaker 1: Then there's the radar imager for Mars's Subsurface Experiment or 534 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: rim FACTS. This one uses a radar system that can 535 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: penetrate the ground and give what NASA calls a quote 536 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 1: centimeter scale resolution of the geologic structure of the subsurface 537 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: end quote super nifty. Then there's one more scientific experiment aboard, 538 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: the perseverance that we need to talk about, as well 539 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: as ingenuity, something I haven't really covered yet, but keep teasing, 540 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: but we'll get back to that after we take another 541 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:25,000 Speaker 1: short break. The last of the major experiments aboard the 542 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: Perseverance is the Mars Oxygen Institute Resource Utilization Experiment or MOXIE. 543 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 1: What a great acronym. Now, this experiment will attempt to 544 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: generate oxygen from the carbon dioxide that's in Mars's atmosphere. 545 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:44,359 Speaker 1: See here, on Earth, CEO two makes up about point 546 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,760 Speaker 1: zero four of our atmosphere, and that's it, and honestly, 547 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: that's enough. C O two is a greenhouse gas. In fact, 548 00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 1: out of all the greenhouse gases that humans release in 549 00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: our atmosphere, CEO two makes up any one point three 550 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,760 Speaker 1: p and of them. So a little c O two 551 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: can go a long way when it comes to the 552 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 1: greenhouse effect. But Mars's atmosphere is a totally different story. There, 553 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 1: c O two is a major player. It makes up 554 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:18,480 Speaker 1: nine of Mars' atmosphere. Oxygen, by contrast, makes up a 555 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:22,880 Speaker 1: tiny point one three of Mars's atmosphere. Here on Earth, 556 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 1: it's twenty one of our atmosphere. Now, it's incredibly obvious 557 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,000 Speaker 1: that we humans need oxygen, and it stands to reason 558 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: that would be way better if we could produce the 559 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,320 Speaker 1: oxygen we need on Mars while you know we're actually 560 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 1: on Mars. As opposed to bringing everything with us, everything 561 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 1: we decide we need to bring, we have to launch 562 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: off the Earth, and launching stuff is expensive and it's risky, 563 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: so it would be better if we could create all 564 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,400 Speaker 1: the stuff we need while we're already on Mars. On 565 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:55,440 Speaker 1: top of that, besides breathing, we need oxygen as a 566 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:59,080 Speaker 1: component for rocket fuel, so using the resources of Mars 567 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: to create few tool would be a huge deal. Again, 568 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,680 Speaker 1: we wouldn't have to send our return trips worth of 569 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:10,040 Speaker 1: fuel out on the launch. That would be enormous. Now, 570 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 1: Moxie isn't going to terraform Mars. It's a small scale experiment, 571 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: more like a proof of concept. It will take c 572 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,920 Speaker 1: O two from Mars' atmosphere and convert it into oxygen 573 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:28,600 Speaker 1: and carbon monoxide through an electrochemical process. So Moxie pulls 574 00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:31,719 Speaker 1: in air from the environment. It will pass that air 575 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: through a filter and then pressurize the c O two 576 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: so that it's approximately one atmosphere in pressure. That is 577 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:42,640 Speaker 1: one Earth atmosphere in pressure, which is much greater pressure 578 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:45,400 Speaker 1: than what you would find in Mars' own atmosphere. The 579 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 1: CEO two then goes to a solid oxide electrolyzer or 580 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: s o x E. The electrochemical process does the separating 581 00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:57,919 Speaker 1: at a temperature of eight hundred degrees celsius, so things 582 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,839 Speaker 1: get pretty toasty. There are asked preheating components. There's also 583 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,280 Speaker 1: an exhaust cooling component. All of this is really important 584 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,760 Speaker 1: for moxy to operate, but also it's important to cool 585 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 1: the exhaust in order to protect the other experiments that 586 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:14,840 Speaker 1: are aboard the Perseverance. The exhaust also has to pass 587 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,799 Speaker 1: through a filter before it can be vented back out 588 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:21,360 Speaker 1: to the Martian atmosphere. Now why is that, Well, it 589 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 1: gets back to those contaminants I mentioned earlier. We have 590 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,799 Speaker 1: a responsibility to limit the sort of contaminants we could 591 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 1: introduce to another planet, and there's actually an official policy 592 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:36,040 Speaker 1: about this. It's called the Planetary Protection Requirements. Now, assuming 593 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,719 Speaker 1: moxi's experiments are successful, we might see NASA and other 594 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 1: organizations create larger implementations of this same technology to make 595 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:48,040 Speaker 1: a significant amount of oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, and 596 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:49,920 Speaker 1: that will be a big step in the direction to 597 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,400 Speaker 1: send people to Mars, as it will give those people 598 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:55,480 Speaker 1: an important component for making the rocket fuel needed to 599 00:37:55,880 --> 00:38:00,279 Speaker 1: return back here to Earth. And now finally it's time 600 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:04,200 Speaker 1: to talk about Ingenuity, a high risk, high reward experiment. 601 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 1: It's high risk because no one really knows yet if 602 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 1: it's actually gonna work. It's high reward because if it 603 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,319 Speaker 1: does well, we'll have an incredible experience that we can 604 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: build upon. So what the heck is Ingenuity? It's a helicopter. Yeah, 605 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:25,120 Speaker 1: Perseverance is bringing along with it a helicopter to Mars, 606 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: so you can get to the chopper and get to 607 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:32,760 Speaker 1: Mars at the same time, thus fulfilling two different Arnold 608 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 1: Schwarzenegger film plots simultaneously. It's never been done before. Now 609 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 1: let's get more specific. When I say helicopter, I don't 610 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,280 Speaker 1: mean the sort of flying vehicle that carries people around 611 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:50,399 Speaker 1: here on Earth. This is more like a drone. It's 612 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:54,359 Speaker 1: a very small aircraft. It's autonomous, which yeah, I would 613 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,480 Speaker 1: have to be. There's no way you can fly this 614 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 1: thing via remote control back here on Earth. It would 615 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,920 Speaker 1: crash and then you'll be waiting fifteen minutes or whatever 616 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 1: in order to find out about it. The Ingenuity has 617 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 1: a mass of one point eight kilograms, so here on 618 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:14,040 Speaker 1: Earth it weighs four pounds, and it makes sense that 619 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:16,759 Speaker 1: it needs to be lightweight because the Martian atmosphere is 620 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 1: so thin. Now, remember, heavier than air. Aircraft need to 621 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,400 Speaker 1: generate lift, and you can think of lift as a 622 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: force that presses up on the underside of a wing or, 623 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 1: in the case of a helicopter, the underside of its rotors, 624 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,600 Speaker 1: which really a rotor is just a wing that moves 625 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 1: in a circle. This force has to be strong enough 626 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,440 Speaker 1: to counteract the weight of the object in order to 627 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: get off the ground. If the gravity of Mars were 628 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 1: the same as that of Earth, this would be super 629 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:49,400 Speaker 1: hard to do because the atmosphere is so thin. You 630 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:52,960 Speaker 1: would struggle to generate enough lift to counteract the weight 631 00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:57,200 Speaker 1: of the flight vehicle. But gravity on Mars is also 632 00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 1: not as strong as it is here on Earth. It's 633 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:03,080 Speaker 1: actually a about one third of Earth's gravity a little 634 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,279 Speaker 1: more than that. So yeah, you've got a thin atmosphere, 635 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:08,880 Speaker 1: but you also have less gravity and therefore less weight 636 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: to worry about. So your mass stays the same because 637 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,600 Speaker 1: gravity does not affect how much mass something has, but 638 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:19,240 Speaker 1: your weight is different. So while the helicopter gadget weighs 639 00:40:19,239 --> 00:40:22,239 Speaker 1: around four pounds here on Earth. On Mars, it's going 640 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,239 Speaker 1: to be closer to a pound and a half. Now, 641 00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:28,560 Speaker 1: I would still have one point eight kilograms of mass 642 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:32,600 Speaker 1: because mass doesn't change, but that mass would weigh the 643 00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:35,399 Speaker 1: same as an object that has just point six eight 644 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,960 Speaker 1: kilograms of mass here on Earth. So if somehow you 645 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,680 Speaker 1: were able to take an earth point six eight kilograms 646 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:46,720 Speaker 1: and put it against this thing while it's on Mars, 647 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:50,480 Speaker 1: the scales would balance out. Now, considering the rotors on 648 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,840 Speaker 1: this thing, I'm actually really impressed they were able to 649 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 1: get the weight that low because each rotor, and there 650 00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:59,320 Speaker 1: are two of them, measures four feet or one point 651 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,640 Speaker 1: two met years and lengths. Now, just remember that these 652 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:06,839 Speaker 1: rotors are mounted in the center. So the helicopter also 653 00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 1: has solar panels. Those are going to be used to 654 00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:13,520 Speaker 1: charge the onboard battery. It has a wireless communication system 655 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,680 Speaker 1: that allows engineers on Earth to relay commands to the 656 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:20,360 Speaker 1: helicopter via the rover. So in this case, the engineers 657 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,279 Speaker 1: could give pretty general commands, such as how long the 658 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,759 Speaker 1: helicopter would operate or how high it was to fly. 659 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:29,360 Speaker 1: But then the helicopter has to do all the actual 660 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: flying on its own. There will be no steering this 661 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:37,319 Speaker 1: thing due to that communication lag. The helicopter has inertial sensors, 662 00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:40,920 Speaker 1: so it can tell what it's orientation is, whether it's 663 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:45,200 Speaker 1: upright or not. It's also got a laser altimeter, so 664 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: this is essentially a laser range finder, so it shoots 665 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:51,560 Speaker 1: a laser at the ground. It essentially measures the amount 666 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: of time it takes for the laser to go out 667 00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:57,759 Speaker 1: from the laser range finder, hit the ground and come 668 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,480 Speaker 1: back up and hit a sensor, and on that it 669 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:03,879 Speaker 1: can determine how high up it is. It's also got 670 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,279 Speaker 1: two cameras on board. One of them can take color 671 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,200 Speaker 1: images and the other one can only take black and 672 00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:11,680 Speaker 1: white images. And it's got some heating components inside of it, 673 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:14,640 Speaker 1: which is important because it needs to stay in operational 674 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:18,960 Speaker 1: temperature even during the Martian night. Uh. The average temperature 675 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:24,600 Speaker 1: on Mars is about minus sixty degrees celsius, though in 676 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:28,080 Speaker 1: the daytime during the Martian summer, if you happen to 677 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:30,560 Speaker 1: be near the equator, you might reach a high of 678 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:35,239 Speaker 1: up to twenty degrees celsius. That's twenty degrees positive. So 679 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 1: there is a really wide variation in temperatures on the planet. 680 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:40,759 Speaker 1: That's something else that we would have to prepare for 681 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:43,600 Speaker 1: if we were to ever actually, you know, go there. Now, 682 00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:46,440 Speaker 1: NASA has made it clear that this aircraft is considered 683 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:50,680 Speaker 1: a quote completely independent of the Mars twenty twenty Science 684 00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:54,120 Speaker 1: Mission end quote, which is why the ingenuity doesn't really 685 00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: show up when you look at the breakdown of experiments 686 00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:00,239 Speaker 1: that are aboard the Perseverance. It's also described as a 687 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:05,759 Speaker 1: quote demonstration of technology end quote. That means ingenuity isn't 688 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,040 Speaker 1: going to be relied upon to deliver any you know, 689 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:11,400 Speaker 1: scientific data about Mars. It's really meant to give us 690 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:14,960 Speaker 1: an idea if the powered flying device is a viable 691 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:17,960 Speaker 1: approach on Mars. It's also meant to prove that the 692 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 1: manta ization of technologies necessary to allow for this will 693 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:25,640 Speaker 1: actually work. And if it does work, then that means 694 00:43:25,719 --> 00:43:28,239 Speaker 1: we could see all sorts of flying drones deployed to 695 00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:30,640 Speaker 1: Mars in the future to do stuff like map out 696 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,520 Speaker 1: areas or survey regions that are too treacherous for rovers 697 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:39,040 Speaker 1: to manage, or perform other scientific experiments. Now, my hope 698 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,960 Speaker 1: is that all of these experiments teach us a lot 699 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 1: more about our neighbor planet, and that with this information 700 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:47,680 Speaker 1: we can plot out further missions, and I think it 701 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,680 Speaker 1: would be truly remarkable if I were to see people 702 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,839 Speaker 1: land on Mars within my lifetime. And as always, there 703 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,880 Speaker 1: are opportunities for the things we learned in the technology 704 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:01,319 Speaker 1: we developed to make all this possible to benefit us 705 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:04,840 Speaker 1: in other ways. One of the coolest things about space 706 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:10,279 Speaker 1: exploration that's not really about the exploration itself, is that 707 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:14,239 Speaker 1: all the technology that was once created as a necessity 708 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,239 Speaker 1: in order to achieve mission goals has kind of found 709 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,480 Speaker 1: its way into our daily lives and other implementations. We 710 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:24,480 Speaker 1: often see unanticipated benefits as byproducts, and so I think 711 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:26,120 Speaker 1: it's always a good thing for us to push back 712 00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:28,279 Speaker 1: our boundaries of ignorance. You never know what sort of 713 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:32,040 Speaker 1: things you're gonna uncover along the way. As for future missions, 714 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:34,920 Speaker 1: there are a couple more that I can mention briefly. 715 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:37,759 Speaker 1: One is a part of a mission that is called 716 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 1: the Exo Mars program. This one has actually led by 717 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:45,200 Speaker 1: the European Space Agency and the ras Cosmost State Corporation. 718 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:49,279 Speaker 1: The plan is to launch a rover which would not 719 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:53,520 Speaker 1: be that much different from Curiosity and Perseverance in twenty 720 00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:57,440 Speaker 1: twenty two, again two years apart. This one will be 721 00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:02,000 Speaker 1: called the Rosalind Franklin, named after the British chemist. NASA 722 00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:06,279 Speaker 1: is contributing some of the UH components that are going 723 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:08,600 Speaker 1: to be used in some of the scientific instruments as 724 00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:11,520 Speaker 1: part of this rover. The rover's mission is very similar 725 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:14,760 Speaker 1: to that of Perseverance, primarily looking for evidence that life 726 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:18,880 Speaker 1: could have existed on Mars in the ancient past. Another 727 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:22,920 Speaker 1: mission is the aforementioned plan to retrieve the samples that 728 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:26,880 Speaker 1: Perseverance is going to collect assuming its mission is successful. 729 00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:31,360 Speaker 1: This one is a more long term plan because of 730 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:36,239 Speaker 1: the complexities of getting too and back from Mars. So 731 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,560 Speaker 1: going from Earth to Mars and back again. Really we've 732 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:42,319 Speaker 1: only managed one way trip so far, this would be 733 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,680 Speaker 1: a lot harder. The current proposed timeline would have a 734 00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:50,000 Speaker 1: launch of the initial vehicle, the Sample Return Lander, in 735 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:53,960 Speaker 1: July twenty twenty six, which would actually touch down on 736 00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:58,480 Speaker 1: Martian soil in August twenty twenty eight. Now that's an 737 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:02,440 Speaker 1: unusually long tra AVL time, and honestly I don't know 738 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:05,440 Speaker 1: all the reasons for that. But the lander will have 739 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:09,640 Speaker 1: its own mini rover provided by the European Space Agency, 740 00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:13,000 Speaker 1: and this rover will go and fetch the stored samples 741 00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:17,200 Speaker 1: that Perseverance had gathered in one It will bring those 742 00:46:17,239 --> 00:46:19,960 Speaker 1: samples to a rocket that is carried aboard the Sample 743 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:23,600 Speaker 1: Return Lander, and the rocket will blast off, the first 744 00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:26,000 Speaker 1: time in history that we will have launched a rocket 745 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:30,279 Speaker 1: from another planet, and it will then send the payload 746 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:34,480 Speaker 1: to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit around Mars. That 747 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:38,680 Speaker 1: spacecraft is called the Earth Return Orbiter, and it will 748 00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:41,799 Speaker 1: actually launch from Earth separately from the lander. It would 749 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:46,200 Speaker 1: launch in September, a couple of months after the lander 750 00:46:46,239 --> 00:46:49,480 Speaker 1: has launched, but it will arrive in orbit around Mars 751 00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:54,799 Speaker 1: by October, several months before the lander touches down. The 752 00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:59,120 Speaker 1: Sample Return container from the rocket will separate. It will 753 00:46:59,239 --> 00:47:02,399 Speaker 1: dock with the Return Orbiter, and then the orbiter would 754 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:06,080 Speaker 1: prepare for the trip back home once Earth and Mars 755 00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:09,520 Speaker 1: were lined up again, and the estimated return date would 756 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:14,359 Speaker 1: be sometime in twenty thirty one. So if everything goes well, 757 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:16,879 Speaker 1: it's going to take more than a decade to get 758 00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:22,439 Speaker 1: those Martian rocks and soil back here on Earth for analysis. Man, 759 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:27,359 Speaker 1: this stuff is hard, but super interesting. Guys. I hope 760 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:31,040 Speaker 1: you enjoyed that episode about Perseverance. I really hope you 761 00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:36,839 Speaker 1: enjoyed it, because we're gonna be doing another one on Wednesday. 762 00:47:36,880 --> 00:47:38,560 Speaker 1: I am really going to be looking at sort of 763 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,000 Speaker 1: the history of leading up to the Perseverance mission and 764 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:47,400 Speaker 1: talking about the the complexity of that lead in because 765 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:50,520 Speaker 1: it involves not just technology, it involves a lot of 766 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:55,120 Speaker 1: other human factors to like politics and budget and these 767 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:59,840 Speaker 1: are things that NASA has to deal with regularly and 768 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:04,160 Speaker 1: it can drastically change the ability of the agency to 769 00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:08,320 Speaker 1: pursue specific missions. And so we will cover that as well, 770 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:11,520 Speaker 1: because it's important again to get the full context of 771 00:48:11,560 --> 00:48:15,400 Speaker 1: what's going on, and we'll also talk about some of 772 00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:18,960 Speaker 1: the interesting stuff we've had a chance to experience thanks 773 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:22,919 Speaker 1: to Perseverance already. So tune in then. If you have 774 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:26,279 Speaker 1: any suggestions for future episodes of tech Stuff, drop me 775 00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,000 Speaker 1: a line let me know. The best way to do 776 00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:30,640 Speaker 1: that is over on Twitter. The handle for the show 777 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:33,880 Speaker 1: is text Stuff hs W and I'll talk to you 778 00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:42,840 Speaker 1: again release soon. Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. 779 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i 780 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:49,239 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 781 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:50,200 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.