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Scientists at NASA's <keyword id="12756716" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Perseverance-Mars-rover-mission" source="Orion">Perseverance Mars rover mission</keyword> have discovered that rocks in the <keyword id="4183780" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="jezero" source="Orion">Jezero</keyword> Crater on the Red Planet have interacted with water multiple times over the eons and that some contain organic molecules. The team discovered the organic compounds on the 45 kilometres Jezero, which hosted a big lake and a river delta in the ancient past, using the <keyword id="10842370" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SHERLOC" source="Orion">SHERLOC</keyword> (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument. They found carbon-containing molecules not only in the interiors of abraded rocks that SHERLOC analysed, but also in the dust on non-abraded rock. However, in a statement the scientist said finding of organics "is not a confirmation that life once existed in Jezero and left telltale signs (biosignatures). There are both biological and non-biological mechanisms that create organics". Curiosity rover has also discovered organics at its landing site within Gale Crater. At the same time, the preservation of organics inside ancient rocks -- regardless of origin -- at both Gale and Jezero Craters does hint that potential biosignatures (signs of life, whether past or present) could be preserved, too, the scientists said. "This is a question that may not be solved until the samples are returned to Earth, but the preservation of organics is very exciting," said Luther Beegle, SHERLOC principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, in the statement. "When these samples are returned to Earth, they will be a source of scientific inquiry and discovery for many years," Beegle added. The findings were presented at the recently-held American Geophysical Union fall science meeting in New Orleans. <keyword id="30862" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="perseverance" source="Orion">Perseverance</keyword> has been collecting Martian rock samples in search of ancient microscopic life. Of Perseverance's 43 sample tubes, six have been sealed to date -- four with rock cores, one with Martian atmosphere, and one that contained "witness" material to observe any contamination the rover might have brought from Earth. Mars Sample Return seeks to bring select tubes back to Earth, where generations of scientists will be able to study them with powerful lab equipment far too large to send to Mars. Meanwhile, the scientists also discovered that the Jezero Crater on the Red Planet where the six-wheeled explorer has been driving on since landing in February has organic is likely formed from red-hot magma. Using PIXL instrument, short for <keyword id="12756717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="planetary-instrument-for-x-ray-lithochemistry" source="Orion">Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry</keyword>, scientists had a "good look at the abraded patch of a rock from the area nicknamed 'South Seitah'". The "texture indicates the rock formed when crystals grew and settled in a slowly cooling magma -- for example a thick lava flow, lava lake, or magma chamber", said Ken Farley, Perseverance Project Scientist from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, in the statement. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/constant-fii-selling-since-october-bleeds-indian-markets/articleshow/88339477.cms">Constant FII selling since October bleeds Indian markets; IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, ONGC top losers</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/netflix-vs-disney-plus-hotstar-plans-compared/articleshow/88339217.cms">Netflix vs Disney+ Hotstar: Subscription plans compared</a>

NASA's Perseverance rover discovers organic chemicals on Mars

<ul class="summary-list"><li>NASA's <keyword id="12055530" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mars" source="Orion">Mars</keyword> Reconnaissance Orbiter caught a view of Perseverance rolling across the Jezero Crater.</li><li>The rover was traveling along some of the oldest accessible pieces of rock in the crater.</li></ul>In a recent satellite photograph, NASA's <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/">Perseverance</a> rover can be spotted rolling along Mars' Jezero Crater in search of the next ancient boulder.The rover, which made landfall after its precise <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-landing-nasa-perseverance-rover-touches-down-in-jezero-crater-2021-2">plunge</a> in February, trekked through the dirt to conduct its next series of drillings in its mission to explore the red planet for signs of ancient microbial life.Perseverance - nicknamed "Percy" - is exploring a region known as South Séítah, which comes from a Navajo phrase meaning "amidst the sand." The Séítah area contains some of the deepest and perhaps oldest accessible geologic units in the Jezero Crater, according to <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/perseverances-first-road-trip">NASA</a>.But Percy is familiar with the terrain. In September - after a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-first-mars-sample-mysteriously-missing-2021-8">failed first attempt</a> - the rover completed its first successful drilling operation near South Séítah at a large boulder nicknamed Rochette. NASA hopes to one day return the core rock samples to Earth. While Percy and its trailing helicopter, Ingenuity, appear to be alone on Mars, the rover has company from above. With the help of its <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/mission/instruments/hirise/">High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment</a> camera, the <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter</a> - which recently celebrated its 15th year in orbit - surveys the planet in search of signs of water. On the side, the orbiter will snap photos of its rover coworkers in motion. Earlier this year, the spacecraft captured the<a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/"> Curiosity</a> rover<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-curiosity-rover-mars-spotted-climbing-mont-mercou-2021-5"> trekking up</a> Mont Mercou, which is part of a hilly region at the base of Mount Sharp - an area observed only from a distance since the rover landed nearby in 2012. While NASA's spacecraft are business as usual around the red planet, the rovers and NASA's remaining fleet are harder to reach. As Earth and Mars move to the opposite sides of the sun - an alignment that occurs every two years - communication can become more difficult, <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9051/nasas-mars-fleet-lies-low-with-sun-between-earth-and-red-planet/">according to NASA</a>. Between October 2 and 14, NASA's <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> mission controllers plan to turn off some instruments, while others will continue sending data to Earth - even though the incoming information could be lost. In the meantime, after sending two weeks' worth of instructions, some engineers have no choice but to wait until the conjunction ends. "Like parents who raise youngsters to be responsible and let them go on a short vacation with their friends, they've done all they can to ensure the voyagers will be healthy and safe," NASA <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/night-sky/solar-conjunction/">wrote</a>.

A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars snapped a photo of the Perseverance rover in the crater below

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A device on NASA's Perseverance Rover converted Mars' thin air into oxygen.</li><li>The pilot project produced enough oxygen for a small dog to breathe for 10 hours. </li></ul>NASA has a way to produce oxygen out of the air on Mars, and it could be a huge step toward building crewed bases on the Red Planet. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-nasa-mars-rover-turns-co2-into-oxygen-2020-7">Creating oxygen</a> from the Martian air is no easy feat.Mars' atmosphere consists of mostly carbon dioxide (95%) and nitrogen (3%). It only has traces of oxygen, meaning it's impossible to breathe on Mars, let alone explore it. That's where the microwave-sized device named the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasas-perseverance-rover-experiment-reliably-making-oxygen-on-mars-2022-8">Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment</a>, aka MOXIE, comes in. MOXIE hitched a ride to Mars on NASA's Perseverance Rover in 2021 and has been hard at work ever since.<div type="image" title="An above shot of a rover landing on a brown surface." height="1536" width="2048" msid="103482128" hostid="261"></div>Over the last 2.5 years, it created 122 grams of oxygen — enough to keep a small dog alive for 10 hours, <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-oxygen-generating-experiment-moxie-completes-mars-mission?utm_source=iContact&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=nasajpl&amp;utm_content=moxie20230906">NASA</a> said in a statement Wednesday.That may sound like a lot of time and effort for such a small amount, but MOXIE is just a pilot.Now that scientists know the technology works, they can begin scaling it up to hopefully one day produce enough oxygen for humans to breathe and for fuel to power the rocket back from Mars, NASA said."By proving this technology in real-world conditions, we've come one step closer to a future in which astronauts 'live off the land' on the Red Planet," Trudy Kortes, the director of technology demonstrations for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA, said in the statement.<h2>MOXIE performed twice as well as expected</h2>The small device was even more successful than researchers had hoped.<div type="image" title="A cube-shaped device being lowered." height="720" width="960" msid="103482129" hostid="261"></div>In June, scientists pushed MOXIE's limits. At maximum production level, it generated 12 grams of oxygen an hour — twice as much as expected — at 98% purity or better, according to NASA.It was a risky experiment that could've damaged MOXIE but ultimately proved the technology's impressive capabilities."We rolled the dice a little bit," Michael Hecht, MOXIE's principal investigator, told <a href="https://www.space.com/mars-perseverance-rover-oxygen-experiment-moxie-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space.com</a> in June. "It was 'hold your breath and see what happens.'"<h2>How MOXIE makes oxygen on Mars</h2>MOXIE works by separating a single oxygen atom from each molecule of carbon dioxide in Mars' thin atmosphere.Scientists can use the MOXIE pilot project to inform the next phase of the technology: building out a larger, more developed system that would include an oxygen generator along with a method for liquefying and storing the oxygen it produces, NASA said. "Developing technologies that let us use resources on the moon and Mars is critical to build a long-term lunar presence, create a robust lunar economy, and allow us to support an initial human exploration campaign to Mars," Pam Melroy, the deputy administrator at NASA, said in the statement.

A device on NASA's Perseverance rover generated enough oxygen on Mars for a small dog to breathe for 10 hours. Astronauts could be next.

<ul><li><keyword id="6360409" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="Orion">NASA</keyword>'s Perseverance <keyword id="718236" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars-rover" source="Orion">Mars rover</keyword> has now collected two rock samples, giving scientists insight into <keyword id="47638" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars" source="Orion">Mars</keyword>' history.</li><li>The first sample named "<keyword id="12077316" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Montdenier" source="Orion">Montdenier</keyword>" was collected on September 6, and a second, "Montagnac", from the same rock on September 8, the <keyword id="106731" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-space-agency" source="Orion">US space agency</keyword> said in a statement.</li><li>The rock that provided the mission's first core samples is basaltic in composition and may be the product of lava flows. The team also found salts within these rocks.</li></ul>NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has now collected two rock samples, giving scientists insight into Mars' history. The first sample named "Montdenier" was collected on September 6, and a second, "Montagnac", from the same rock on September 8, the US space agency said in a statement. Analysis of the rocks from which the Montdenier and <keyword id="12077317" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Montagnac-samples" source="Orion">Montagnac samples</keyword> were taken show signs that they were in contact with water for a long period of time, boosting the case for ancient life on the Red Planet. aceIt looks like our first rocks reveal a potentially habitable sustained environment. It's a big deal that the water was there for a long time," said Ken Farley of Caltech, project scientist for the mission, which is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. The rock that provided the mission's first core samples is basaltic in composition and may be the product of lava flows. The team also found salts within these rocks. These salts may have formed when groundwater flowed through and altered the original minerals in the rock, or more likely when liquid water evaporated, leaving the salts. The salt minerals in these first two rock cores may also have trapped tiny bubbles of ancient Martian water. If present, they could serve as microscopic time capsules, offering clues about the ancient climate and habitability of Mars. According to the team, the level of alteration seen in the rock that provided the core samples -- as well as in the rock the team targeted on their first sample-acquisition attempt -- suggests that groundwater was present for a long time. This groundwater could have been related to the lake that was once in Jezero, or it could have traveled through the rocks long after the lake had dried up. Though scientists still can't say whether any of the water that altered these rocks was present for tens of thousands or for millions of years, they feel more certain that it was there for long enough to make the area more welcoming to microscopic life in the past, the team explained. Perseverance's next likely sample site is just 656 feet (200 meters) away in "South Seitah". a series of ridges covered by sand dunes, boulders, and rock shards that Farley likens to "broken dinner plates". The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/instagram-favourites-will-allow-users-to-prioritise-accounts-in-their-feed/articleshow/86134629.cms">Instagram 'Favourites' will allow users to prioritise accounts in their feed</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/motorcycle-engine-vibrations-can-degrade-iphone-camera-performance/articleshow/86134711.cms">Motorcycle engine vibrations can 'degrade' iPhone camera performance</a>

NASA Perseverance's rock sample to give insight into Mars' history

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>'s <keyword id="9569864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="perseverance-mars-rover">Perseverance Mars rover</keyword> is set to travel three miles to search for signs of life.</li><li>Perseverance will explore a crater and pick up rock samples to be studied on Earth, NASA said.</li><li>Since landing in February, the rover has taken photos and helped with the helicopter <keyword id="2459491" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ingenuity">Ingenuity</keyword>'s test flights.</li></ul>NASA's Perseverance rover is going on a road trip across <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> to search for signs of life.Since NASA's rover landed on the Red Planet on February 18, it's taken <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-nasa-perseverance-rover-captures-more-striking-shots-of-mars-2021-5">photos</a> of the surface of Mars and supported the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter-landed-in-a-new-spot-on-mars-2021-6">helicopter Ingenuity's</a> flight tests. Now, Perseverance is starting its first scientific mission.Perseverance is set to explore the Jezero Crater and cover a 1.5 square-mile patch of the Martian surface over the next few months, Jennifer Trosper, Perseverance project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8963/nasas-perseverance-rover-begins-its-first-science-campaign-on-mars/">statement</a> on Wednesday."We are putting the rover's commissioning phase as well as the landing site in our rearview mirror and hitting the road," she said.<div type="image" title="annotated image of Mars' Jezero Crater depicts the route NASA’s Perseverance rover will take during its first science campaign" height="1402" width="2121" msid="83430325" hostid="261"></div>"It is from this location that the first samples from another planet will be collected for return to Earth by a future mission," Trosper added.Perseverance will help NASA understand the geology of the crater and explore the area for signs of ancient microscopic life, the agency said in the statement."This area was under at least 100 meters [328 feet] of water 3.8 billion years ago," Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist and co-lead of Perseverance's <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> mission, said. "We don't know what stories the rocks and layered outcrops will tell us, but we're excited to get started." He said his team has noted "potential obstructions" that Perseverance could come across, including sand dunes.In its road trip, Perseverance will also measure and test the area in preparation for further exploration by humans and robots, NASA added.Perseverance, which is NASA's fifth <keyword id="718236" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars-rover">Mars rover</keyword>, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in July and traveled almost 300 million miles with Ingenuity strapped to its belly to reach the Red Planet.

NASA's Perseverance rover is making a 3-mile road trip across Mars to search for signs of life, dodging sand dunes as it goes

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> is searching for signs of ancient life on <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword>.</li><li>The $2.7 billion Perseverance rover landed in February 2021, and will bring back Martian soil to Earth over three missions.</li><li>The total cost of the project could reach over $9 billion.</li></ul>

NASA will pay most of the $9 billion cost of bringing Martian dirt back to Earth

In a first, the <keyword id="9577365" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="perseverance-rover">Perseverance rover</keyword> on Mars is set to deploy a mini-helicopter named Ingenuity that will fly and explore the <keyword id="6385434" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="red-planet">Red Planet</keyword>. After dropping the debris shield, <keyword id="30862" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="perseverance">Perseverance</keyword> will spend next couple of days following the Ingenuity's <keyword id="10978111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="flight-zone">flight zone</keyword> on Mars. "Away goes the debris shield, and here's our first look at the helicopter. It's stowed sideways, folded up and locked in place, so there's some reverse origami to do before I can set it down. First though, I'll be off to the designated "helipad," a couple days' drive from here," the rover team said in a tweet on Monday. <keyword id="6360409" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> expects the first test flight of the four-pound, four-blade rotorcraft to come "no earlier than the first week of April". The teams operating Ingenuity and NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover have chosen the flight zone where the helicopter will attempt the first powered, controlled flights on another planet. Perseverance -- with Ingenuity attached to its belly -- landed in Jezero Crater on February 18. Ingenuity is a technology demonstration with a limited test flight duration of up to 31 days (30 Mars days, or sols). "The rover will deploy the helicopter and provide environmental monitoring and imaging support. It also hosts Ingenuity's base station, enabling communication with mission controllers on <keyword id="6359982" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="earth">Earth</keyword>," according to NASA. NASA's Ingenuity <keyword id="2700085" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mars-helicopter">Mars Helicopter</keyword> is the first aircraft humanity has sent to another planet to attempt powered, controlled flight. If its experimental flight test program succeeds, the data returned could benefit future explorations of the Red Planet -- including those by astronauts -- by adding the aerial dimension, which is not available today. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/how-to-fix-android-apps-crashing-issue-on-your-mobile/articleshow/81646271.cms">Android apps are crashing and Google is working on a fix – here’s how to fix the issue</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/indias-supreme-court-waives-compound-interest-on-all-loans-put-under-moratorium-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/81645705.cms">India’s Supreme Court waives compound interest on ALL loans put under moratorium due to COVID-19 pandemic</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-9-pro-oneplus-9-and-oneplus-watch-to-launch-in-india-today-how-to-watch-live-stream-price-features-and-more/articleshow/81644503.cms">OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9 and OnePlus Watch to launch in India today – How to watch live stream, price, features and more</a>

NASA set to deploy its mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> said it received a positive first status update from its <keyword id="2459491" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ingenuity">Ingenuity</keyword> <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> Helicopter. </li><li>Simi liar flying robots "might be part of future robotic and human missions to Mars," NASA said.</li><li>When Ingenuity takes off, it'll be an event like the Wright brothers flying on Earth, NASA said.</li></ul>Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said they'd heard back from the tiny Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, paving the way for its first-of-a-kind flight on the <keyword id="6385434" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="red-planet">Red Planet</keyword>. The helicopter's first status report arrived as expected, said Tim Canham, operations lead for the project, in <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-mars-helicopter-reports-in">a statement on Friday</a>. It said Ingenuity's batteries were charging as expected and its base station was operating as designed."Both appear to be working great. With this positive report, we will move forward with tomorrow's charge of the helicopter's batteries," Canham said. The helicopter, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-landing-nasa-perseverance-rover-touches-down-in-jezero-crater-2021-2">landed on Mars</a> aboard the Perseverance rover on Thursday, weighs about four pounds, with a fuselage roughly the size of a tissue box, according to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/6-things-to-know-about-nasa-s-mars-helicopter-on-its-way-to-mars">NASA</a>. When Ingenuity takes off on Mars in the coming days or weeks, it will be an event akin to the Wright brothers' Flyer taking off on Earth, NASA said in <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/ingenuity/landing/">press materials</a> about the helicopter. "If successful, these technologies could enable other advanced robotic flying vehicles that might be part of future robotic and human missions to Mars," NASA said.Ingenuity will have to make it through a few steps before its flight.First, its batteries will be charged, NASA said. The rover will supply enough charge to get them to about 35% of their total. Once the helicopter is dropped on the Martian surface, it will rely on its own solar panel for power, the agency added. <div type="image" title="mars rover perseverance helicoper ingenuity" height="1483" width="2636" msid="81140066" hostid="261"></div>Then, the helicopter will need to "survive" the planet's harsh atmosphere."If Ingenuity survives its first bone-chilling Martian nights - where temperatures dip as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius) - the team will proceed with the first flight of an aircraft on another world," NASA said in a statement on Friday. Ingenuity's first flight, if successful, will achieve about 90% of NASA's goals for the helicopter.The craft doesn't yet have a scheduled take-off day, but will have an approximately 30-Martian-day window, according to NASA. That's about 31 Earth days. "Just about every milestone from here through the end of our flight demonstration program will be a first, and each has to succeed for us to go on to the next," said MiMi Aung, project manager.Aung added: "We'll enjoy this good news for the moment, but then we have to get back to work."

NASA says its Ingenuity Mars helicopter sent a positive status update. As it prepares for the flight, the agency is thinking about future crewed flights to the Red Planet.

Washington, As the world witnessed the <keyword id="10791194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="historic-landing">historic landing</keyword> of NASA's <keyword id="9577365" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="perseverance-rover">Perseverance rover</keyword> on the Martian surface, it was Indian-American scientist, <keyword id="1322099" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swati-Mohan">Swati Mohan</keyword>, who led the guidance, navigation, and control operations of the Mars 2020 mission. Mohan also confirmed that the rover had survived a particularly tricky plunge through the Martian atmosphere. "Touchdown confirmed," exclaimed Mohan, who emigrated from <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> to the US when she was only a year old. She says the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Operations (GN&amp;C) are "eyes and ears" of the spacecraft. Raised in Northern Virginia and Washington DC metro area, she completed her bachelor's degree from <keyword id="31781" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cornell-University">Cornell University</keyword> in Mechanical &amp; Aerospace Engineering, and her M.S. and Ph.D from <keyword id="50375" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Massachusetts-Institute-of-Technology">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</keyword> (MIT) in Aeronautics/Astronautics. Over the course of her career with NASA, Mohan has worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn and GRAIL -- a pair of formation flown spacecraft to the <keyword id="42440" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Moon">Moon</keyword>, and has been a mainstay with the Mars 2020 mission since its beginning in 2013. According to the Mohan, her interest in space was peaked after watching the popular TV show Star Trek when she was 9. "Seeing the beautiful depictions of the new regions of the universe that they were exploring. I remember thinking 'I want to do that. I want to find new and beautiful places in the universe.' The vastness of space holds so much knowledge that we have only begun to learn," she had told NASA. Mohan noted that her passion for space increased further when she took her first physics class. "I was lucky enough to have a great teacher, and everything was so understandable and easy. That was when I really considered engineering, as a way to pursue space," she added. Commenting on her team's role in the current mission, Mohan said during the cruise phase heading toward Mars, their job is to figure out how the spacecraft is oriented, and make sure it is pointed correctly in space -- "solar arrays to sun, antenna to Earth, and maneuver the spacecraft to get it where we want to go." She said during the "seven minutes of terror" leading to the entry, descent, and landing on Mars, GN&amp;C determines the position of the spacecraft and commands the maneuvers to help it land safely. "As the team's operations lead, I am the primary point of communication between the GN&amp;C subsystem and the rest of the project. "I am responsible for the training of the GN&amp;C team, scheduling the mission control staffing for GN&amp;C, as well as the policies/procedures the GN&amp;C uses in the mission control room," Mohan noted. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/pewdiepies-lyrics-targeting-cocomelon-and-jk-rowling-that-may-have-gotten-youtube-angry-enough-to-pull-the-video-down/articleshow/81102941.cms">PewDiePie's lyrics targeting CocoMelon and JK Rowling may have gotten YouTube angry enough to pull the video down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-gets-leaner-with-a-300-million-jabong-write-off-as-ceo-kalyan-krishnamurthy-lists-out-the-priorities-for-2021/articleshow/81105083.cms">Flipkart gets leaner with a $300 million Jabong write-off as CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy lists out the priorities for 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/happiest-minds-is-leveraging-its-partnerships-with-big-players-like-google-microsoft-aws-salesforce/articleshow/81105035.cms">Happiest Minds is a smaller company that does the same thing as MindTree and L&amp;T Infotech — but clearly it is doing it a lot better</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-may-require-twitter-facebook-and-others-to-remove-unlawful-content-within-36-hours/articleshow/81104740.cms">India may require Twitter, Facebook and others to remove unlawful content within 36 hours</a>

Meet Swati Mohan, the Indian-American scientist who helped NASA land rover on Mars

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Perseverance rover captured pictures of a piece of a thermal blanket used during its landing.</li><li><keyword id="11895441" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="space" source="Orion">Space</keyword> junk is a growing concern, in part because it contaminates otherwise pristine planetary bodies.</li></ul>The Perseverance rover has been searching the dusty and rocky landscape of <keyword id="12055530" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mars" source="Orion">Mars</keyword>' Jezero Crater for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-mars-ingenuity-search-signs-life-jezero-crater-2021-6">signs of life</a> since it landed last year. But now, the rover has spotted human garbage on the surface of the red planet.On Tuesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1537120573314113536">the Perseverance team shared on Twitter</a> that they'd spotted what seemed to be a piece of the thermal blanket used to protect the rover from the extreme temperatures it experienced during landing."It's a surprise finding this here" since the robot's descent happened about 2 km — just over a mile away, the team wrote. "Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind?"This isn't the rover's only piece of litter on Mars. In April, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-helicopter-captured-aerial-views-of-space-litter-2022-4">Ingenuity helicopter captured a bird's-eye view of human-made space junk</a> — the landing gear that helped it, and the Perseverance rover, get to Mars.<div type="image" title="The parachute and cone-shaped backshell as pictured by Ingenuity on April 19." height="1741" width="2322" msid="92240474" hostid="261"></div>"Perseverance had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown," Ian Clark, a former Perseverance systems engineer who now leads the effort to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/perseverance-rover-successfully-collects-first-sample-of-mars-rock-2021-9">haul Martian samples</a> back to Earth at JPL in Southern California, <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-mars-helicopter-spots-gear-that-helped-perseverance-rover-land?fbclid=IwAR1fWAhY46HP2VqmlOIahTys6yuWbgxSqVFOcYxQoUuCuYLtT2Wx7_qeTZ4">said in a statement</a>.He continued: "If they either reinforce that our systems worked as we think they worked or provide even one dataset of engineering information we can use for Mars Sample Return planning, it will be amazing. And if not, the pictures are still phenomenal and inspiring."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-rover-landing-jezero-crater-search-for-alien-life-2021-2">Perseverance's main mission is to hunt for signs of ancient microbial</a> life near its landing site Jezero Crater, an ancient river delta.<h2>To boldly pollute</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international-space-station-swerves-to-avoid-rocket-debris-2021-12">Space junk</a> is a growing concern for space agencies.Fragments of missions left behind in space — like the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/f_leftovers.html">boots, shovels, and entire vehicles the Apollo missions left on the Moon</a> — can contaminate otherwise pristine planetary bodies.And as Earth's orbit gets more crowded with satellites and space junk, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-junk-at-critical-density-2015-9">leaving Earth for space exploration is becoming increasingly dangerous</a>. Plus all that space junk surrounding the Earth — including defunct satellites, burned-up boosters, screwdrivers, parachutes, and other leftovers — can be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iss-swerves-avoid-debris-chinese-satellite-space-junk-2021-11">perilous for the International Space Station</a>.Still, restrictions protecting space from pollution are scant. Current <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-accords-deep-space-exploration-moon-mars-asteroids-comets-2020-10">space law</a> has not changed much since the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outerspacetreaty.html">Outer Space Treaty</a>, which was hammered out in 1967 and isn't too detailed. More than half a century later, as celestial bodies like Mars become junkyards, the treaty's gaps stick out.Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomy professor at the University of San Francisco, told an audience at an American Natural History Museum event last month that enshrining protections against polluting the space environment will require defining it as a common heritage of human civilization."Do we view space as our shared ancestry?" she asked. "Whose heritage is it and how do you honor it?"

NASA's Perseverance rover captured images of its own litter, and it shows how Mars is becoming a junkyard

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-first-mars-sample-mysteriously-missing-2021-8">NASA's Perseverance rover</a> has had a rock stuck on one of its wheels for the last four months.</li><li>While other rocks have hitched weeks-long rides on rovers, this rock has been stuck for months.</li></ul>Since at least early February, <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nasa" source="Orion">NASA</keyword>'s Perseverance rover has had a rock clinging to its front left wheel. While other Martian rocks have previously latched onto rovers for weeks at a time, this particular rock has stuck around for months — reaching "pet rock" status.After landing in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-perseverance-rover-will-land-on-mars-2021-2">Jezero Crater</a> in February 2021, the Perseverance rover began <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-first-mars-sample-mysteriously-missing-2021-8">sampling Martian rocks</a> and looking for signs of ancient life. And since at least February 2022, the car-sized robot has not been doing it alone. A little pet rock hitched a ride on NASA's crater floor campaign and has since continued a long trek on the red planet. "If this pet rock could talk, it might tell us about the changes it's noticed as we traveled back north through the Octavia E. Butler landing site, and then west, passing the spectacular remains of the former extent of the delta, 'Kodiak,' on our journey to the western Jezero delta," Eleni Ravanis, a Perseverance student collaborator from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/384/perseverance-has-a-pet-rock/">wrote in a mission update last week</a>. The agency says the rock is not damaging the wheel, but it shows up frequently in the rover's Hazcam — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-best-photos-100-days-on-mars-2021-6">a camera</a> used to detect obstacles in the rover's way. "We've seen these kinds of rocks get 'caught' in Curiosity's wheels from time to time, too," Andrew Good, a NASA spokesperson, told <a href="https://www.cnet.com/science/space/nasa-mars-perseverance-rover-has-a-rock-hitchhiking-in-one-of-its-wheels/">CNET</a> in March. Roughly 18 years ago, a potato-sized rock found its way into the Spirit rover's rear right wheel. "They occur during cross-slope drives, and tend to fall out entirely on their own after a while (there's no particular way to get this rock out of our 'shoe')," Good wrote in an email to CNET.<div type="image" title="The same rock still in the rover’s front left wheel on sol 413. Image taken April 19, 2022." height="965" width="1288" msid="92046422" hostid="261"></div>But while other rocks fall out on their own within weeks, Percy's new rock companion is sticking around. The rock has so far hitchhiked more than 5.3 miles across the Martian landscape, according to <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/384/perseverance-has-a-pet-rock/">NASA</a>.Since astronomers are unsure when the rock will end its journey, Ravanis has a message for any future Martian geologists mapping Jezero Crater: "If you've found a rock that looks out of place, you might just be looking at the former pet rock of Perseverance!"

You Searched For "Perseverance rover" and got 11 results

NASA's Perseverance rover discovers organic chemicals on Mars

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A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars snapped a photo of the Perseverance rover in the crater below

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A device on NASA's Perseverance rover generated enough oxygen on Mars for a small dog to breathe for 10 hours. Astronauts could be next.

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NASA Perseverance's rock sample to give insight into Mars' history

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NASA's Perseverance rover is making a 3-mile road trip across Mars to search for signs of life, dodging sand dunes as it goes

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NASA will pay most of the $9 billion cost of bringing Martian dirt back to Earth

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NASA set to deploy its mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars

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NASA says its Ingenuity Mars helicopter sent a positive status update. As it prepares for the flight, the agency is thinking about future crewed flights to the Red Planet.

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Meet Swati Mohan, the Indian-American scientist who helped NASA land rover on Mars

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NASA's Perseverance rover captured images of its own litter, and it shows how Mars is becoming a junkyard

Paola Rosa-Aquino

The Perseverance rover has a pet rock. NASA says it's breaking hitchhiking records.

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