Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Perseverance Right Over

nasa.gov

The perseverance rover was made to travel to Mars. The rocket was launched on July 30, 2020, it has been said to land on Feb 18, 2021.

The Rocket was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rover has a belly that is called the Ingenuity, also known as the Mars Helicopter. The helicopter is connected to the stomach of the rover. The helicopter is used to get information from Mars.

Perseverance’s mission is to look for signs of life on Mars and cache samples of Martian soil and rock to bring back to Earth for future study. Percy won’t bring it back, but a future sample return mission will.

(this is off of NASA.gov)

• The perseverance has the following parts:

  • Body: a structure that protects the rovers “vital organs”

  • Brains: computers to process information

  • Temperature Controls: internal heaters, a layer of insulation and more

  • “Neck and head”: a mast for the cameras to give the rover a human-scale view

  • Eyes and ears: cameras and instruments that give the rover information about its environment

  • Arm and “hand”: a way to extend its reach and collect rock samples for study

  • Wheels and legs: parts for mobility

  • Electrical power: batteries and power

  • Communications: antennas for “speaking” and “listening”

• ¨The Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, is based on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover configuration. It is car-sized, about 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall (about 3 meters long, 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall). But at 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms), it weighs less than a compact car. In some sense, the rover parts are similar to what any living creature would need to keep it "alive" and able to explore.¨
  (taken right from mars.nasa.gov)

Activity:

Rover taking off

Video on youtube:

7 minutes of terror