Just recently, the Mars 2020 Rover has reached another milestone. Technicians for the said spacecraft has successfully installed a mast which they called the SuperCam Mast Unit. Ticking off the checklist for the accessories for the rover, technicians have previously installed wheels and a robotic arm.
As part of the mast unit, a camera, laser, and spectrometers were installed for the rover. This is the central spire coming out of the middle of the rover where instruments that require a longer view will be mounted. According to the engineers, the cameras and other instruments included in the mast installation are so accurate that the said accessories could identify the chemical and mineral make up of the environmental targets even from a distance. They added that the rover accessories can even identify a target as small as a pencil point from six meters away.
Soren Madsen, the payload development manager at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) explained that SuperCam's rock-zapping laser allows scientists to analyze the chemical composition of the target items. Madsen added that the newly installed accessories let the Mars 2020 rover conduct cutting edge science from a distance.
This is not the first time that such an accessory has been installed on a spacecraft. In fact, the suite of instruments can be compared to the ChemCam which is aboard the curiosity rover. The ChemCam is used to capture images and examine objects from the Martian surface which includes rocks and other samples. In contrast, the new SuperCam will perform the same task analyzing rocks and soil, with an additional task, in particular, searching for organic compounds. The process that SuperCam does can be used to prove or disprove theories saying that life on Mars could be supported.
The success of SuperCam is credited to the contributions from different nations including France, Spain, and the US. The last piece of hardware was completed in France and later shipped to JPL's facility in California where it was assembled.
Sylvestre Maurice, the deputy principal investigator for the SuperCam from the Institut de Recherche en astrophysique et planétologie in Toulouse, France fondly reminisced when SuperCam was formerly a bold and ambitious idea and is now an actual instrument. Maurice added that even if SuperCam has already come a long way, there is yet more to be done. Maurice later said that this advancement is not only for the improvement of SuperCam but also for the success of the amazing consortium that worked on the project together.
The SuperCam is Mars 2020 Rover's Shiny New Accessory
©2024 ScienceTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science times.
Join the Discussion
Most Popular
Influenza Shows Highest 'Pandemic Potential' Among Ranked Pathogens, Study Reveals
Fastest Things in the Universe: Top 5 Cosmic Phenomena With Immensely High Speed
UFOs Piloted by Spiritual Entities? Fox News' Tucker Carlson Makes Bizarre Claim, Suggests That They Do Not Behave According to Laws of Science
Is Eating Dog Food Safe For Humans? What Happens When You Eat It?
Latest Stories
76-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Gigantic Great White Shark Relative that Lived Among Dinosaurs Discovered in Mexico
2 NASA Astronauts Arrive To Serve As Test Pilots for Boeing’s Starliner Capsule a Week Before Its Mission Launch
Bird Flu Outbreak in Dairy Cows Is Extensive; Traces of Virus Found in 20% Commercial Milk Sample
Weird Animal Diet: 5 Species With Unusual Food Preferences
Malaria Mutation Makes Plasmodium falciparum Invisible in Rapid Test, Contributes to 80% False Negative Test Rates
Subscribe to The Science Times!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!