NASA’s Mars Exploration Program

Time 2020-07-22 04:03:08

Web Name: NASA’s Mars Exploration Program

WebSite: http://mars.nasa.gov

ID:31296

Keywords:

Mars,NASA,Program,

Description:

Starting July 27, news activities will cover everything from mission engineering and science to returning samples from Mars to, of course, the launch itself.MORENo matter where you live, choose from a menu of activities to join NASA as we "Countdown to Mars" and launch the Perseverance rover to the Red Planet.MOREThe first helicopter attempting to fly on another planet is a marvel of engineering. Get up to speed with these key facts about its plans.MOREReady for its launch later in the month, the Mars-bound rover will touch terra firma no more.MOREPerseverance Countdown To LaunchThe Red PlanetThe Red PlanetDashboardScience GoalsThe Mars Exploration Program studies Mars as a planetary system in order to understand the formation and early evolution of Mars as a planet, the history of geological processes that have shaped Mars through time, the potential for Mars to have hosted life, and the future exploration of Mars by humans. The strategy has evolved as we have learned more about Mars and as more questions have arisen. We have gone from “Follow the Water” to “Explore Habitability” to “Seek Signs of Life.”The PlanetAtmosphereAstrobiologyPast, Present, Future, TimelineDashboardDATADATA: TODAY'S WEATHER (°F)16°high-89°lowSol2825 MSLDATA: TODAY'S WEATHER (°C)-9°high-67°lowSol2825 MSLDATA: SUNRISE, SUNSET 5:34 AM 5:50 PMSol2825 MSLDATA: ATMOSPHEREModerateUVSunnyConditionSol2825 MSLDATA: SEASONFallSol2825 MSLDATA: PRESSURE881mean PascalsSol2825 MSLRECENT IMAGESMars 2020 Perseverance EncapsulationMars 2020 Perseverance EncapsulationThe Mars Exploration Program studies Mars as a planetary system in order to understand the formation and early evolution of Mars as a planet, the history of geological processes that have shaped Mars through time, the potential for Mars to have hosted life, and the future exploration of Mars by humans. The strategy has evolved as we have learned more about Mars and as more questions have arisen. We have gone from “Follow the Water” to “Explore Habitability” to “Seek Signs of Life.”Mars atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide (about 96 percent), with minor amounts of other gases such as argon and nitrogen. The atmosphere is very thin, however, and the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Mars is only about 0.6 percent of Earth s (101,000 pascals).Scientists think that Mars may have had a thicker atmosphere early in its history, and data from NASA spacecraft (the MAVEN mission) indicate that Mars has lost significant amounts of its atmosphere through time. The primary culprit for Mars atmospheric loss is the solar wind!Astrobiology is a relatively new field of study, where scientists from a variety of disciplines (astronomy, biology, geology, physics, etc.) work together to understand the potential for life to exist beyond Earth. However, the exploration of Mars has been intertwined with NASA s search for life from the beginning. The twin Viking landers of 1976 were NASA s first life detection mission, and although the results from the experiments failed to detect life in the Martian regolith, and resulted in a long period with fewer Mars missions, it was not the end of the fascination that the Astrobiology science community had for the red planet. The field of Astrobiology saw a resurgence due to the controversy surrounding the possible fossil life in the ALH84001 meteorite, and from the outsized public response to this announcement, and subsequent interest from Congress and the White House, NASA s Astrobiology Program (https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ )and one of its major programs, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (https://nai.nasa.gov/ ) were formed. Also at this time, NASA s Mars Exploration Program began to investigate Mars with an increasing focus on missions to the Red Planet. The Pathfinder mission and Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) were sent to Mars to Follow the Water, recognizing that liquid water is necessary for life to exist on Earth. After establishing that Mars once had significant amount of water on its surface, the Mars Science Laboratory (which includes the Curiosity rover) was sent to Mars to determine whether Mars had the right ingredients in the rocks to host life, signaling a shift to the next theme of Explore Habitability . MEP is now developing the Mars 2020 rover mission (https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mars2020/ ) to determine whether life may have left telltale signatures in the rocks on Mars s surface, a further shift to the current science theme Seek the Signs of Life . Finding fossils preserved from early Mars might tell us that life once flourished on this planet. We can search for evidence of cells preserved in rocks, or at a much smaller scale: compounds called biosignatures are molecular fossils, specific compounds that give some indication of the organisms that created them. However, over hundreds of millions of years these molecular fossils on Mars are subject to being destroyed or transformed to the point where they may no longer be recognized as biosignatures. Future missions must either find surface regions where erosion from wind-blown sand has recently exposed very ancient material, or alternately samples must be obtained from a shielded region beneath the surface. This latter approach is being taken by the ExoMars rover (http://exploration.esa.int/mars/48088-mission-overview/ ) under development where drilled samples taken from a depth of up to 2 meters will be analyzed.If you sent your name on the Mars 2020 rover, find your boarding pass here! Missed your chance to fly with Perseverance? Sign up to send your name with a future Mars mission.Send Your Name to Mars AgainJoin us as we explore with robots and send humans there one day. Download a Mars poster that speaks to you.Mars Explorers WantedExplore Martian terrain maps with this interactive visualization tool.Mars Trek“On a Mission,” a new podcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explores the drama and personalities behind a single mission to outer space. Season One is about the InSight mission, due to land on Mars in November. On a Mission PodcastShort, animated answers to common questions about Mars ... in just 60 seconds.Mars in a MinuteHow the Red Planet has been envisioned in humankind's creative imagination.Pop Culture MarsManaged by the Mars Exploration Program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate

TAGS:Mars NASA Program 

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