NASA has sent multiple rovers to Mars since the Sojourner rover touched down on the planet in 1997. From that moment on, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and now Perseverance left Earth to never return and explore the Red Planet for humanity to have a better understanding of life outside our planet. The rovers were responsible for major discoveries, such as organic molecules, evidence of ancient water, and atmospheric properties, but after working for years with no vacation, the Perseverance took some time to rest.
Perseverance is moving to new horizons
NASA still cannot make a two-way trip to Mars and return, but Perseverance could be the first rover to be recovered. On the other hand, the rover has compartments to collect samples. Once they are sealed, it is not possible to re-open and leave some collected rock or soil behind to open slots for eventual new findings. Recently, NASA kept a spot open so they could discard the previous sample and add a new one from the next region to explore.
When Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004, the rover had a three-month mission and then would go offline, but it stayed active for nearly 15 years. Eight years later, in August 2012, Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet and has been active for 13 years exploring Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the Gale crater.
NASA took a selfie from the rover to celebrate
Perseverance has been on Mars since 2021 and has been active for over 1,541 terrestrial days. The rover is covered in dirt, the result of drilling and collecting dozens of rock samples, but the dusty look is not something to be concerned with. NASA reported the rover is healthy and ready to operate for years to come. Art Thompson, the Perseverance project manager, said the robot has all the power it needs to keep exploring Mars.
Now, Perseverance is ready to explore Krokodillen, but to celebrate the 1,500 sols (Martian days) operating, the crew controlling the rover decided to take a selfie, and ended up capturing the “Dust Demon” phenomenon – a combination of air and dust, common on Mars. The photo is a composite of 59 images taken by the WATSON camera at the end of the robotic arm, and it took an hour to perform all movements necessary to create the full selfie.
No new rover on Mars for (at least) the next decade
NASA will not send another rover to explore Mars any time soon, but rather make a trip to Mars and recover the samples collected by Perseverance, and bring them back to Earth. The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission will send another vehicle to the planet, but this one will be responsible for retrieving the collected samples and preparing them for extraction.
The exact timeline for the rescue mission to take place is uncertain due to budget constraints. In the original plan, it would cost $11 billion, and the return date would be in 2040. As a result of the high cost, NASA will study alternative, low-cost plans.
The next moon landing is on the way
Meanwhile, the agency is working on the next trip to the moon. Four astronauts will be on board the Artemis II, and the spaceship will go around the natural satellite and return in April 2026. A year later, Artemis III is scheduled to land on the moon for the first time in over 50 years – the first and last time humanity walked on the moon was in December 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission.
With multiple projects happening at the same time, scientists are discovering something new almost every week, and the telescopes sent to search the cosmos are responsible for a large portion of new findings, such as the cosmic fossil found in another galaxy recently.
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