Written by: Simone Shree Pathak - 24006, Grade X
Posted on: 03 May, 2021
The Perseverance Rover that NASA had launched has finally landed on Mars on February 18, 2020. A Rover is a vehicle used for driving on an extraterrestrial surface with a remote controller. Specifically a Mars rover is a motor vehicle that travels across the surface of the planet Mars Upon its landing on Mars. The Perseverance Rover along with the Ingenuity Drone were part of Mars mission 2020. The rover and the drone were launched on 30th July 2020 at 11:50 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and it landed on the Jezero Crater,Mars on February 18, 2021 at 20: 55 UTC.
This mission had specific objectives in the launching of the Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity Drone. NASA wanted to confirm many things with this expedition. Firstly, they wanted to determine whether life existed on Mars and seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock. There were also other questions that NASA wanted the answers to. They wanted to know about the climate present in Mars as much as possible for the preparation of an actual human expedition in the future. NASA in the short period of time has developed their technology even more and now have created this new rover in such a way that the navigation system allows the rover to detect and avoid hazardous terrain by diverting around it during its descent through the Martian atmosphere.
Perseverance rover has a technology for extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere which is more than 95% carbon dioxide. The rover also oversees the weather and dust in the atmosphere of Mars. Such studies are important for understanding daily and seasonal changes on Mars, and will help future human explorers better predict Martian weather. Predicting the Martian weather and climate will help the scientists get the gist of whether human settlement is possible on Mars or not.
The Mars Mission 2020 has become a great step to the human kind. And humanity is again one step above in the stairs of development. This mission will also greatly benefit mankind. We can acquire different kinds of information about Mars and this mission will also determine whether life is present on Mars or not and we will see if human life is suitable and possible on the foreign planet. And if global warming gets out of control, we can ensure the survival of our species on Mars or any other planet.
This is surely a great achievement for mankind. In my opinion, if the development rate continues at this rate, in the next few decades Mars will be a second home planet to us. This is a next step to humanity, but we should not get ahead of ourselves and forget where we are from. No matter where we reach in the future, we shall stay down to earth and not become complacent. In the name of development and progress, we must not abandon our wisdom and humanity for more knowledge. In the midst of development, we must develop not only physically but also morally.
