Panorama view of the “South Seitah”

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 21, Oct 2021

NASA’s Perseverance rover has clicked a panorama view of the “South Seitah” region of Mars’ Jezero Crater, offering clues to the area’s mysterious past.

• The images reveal the gray, darker gray, and Swiss-coffee-coloured rocky outcrops of the ridge nicknamed “Faillefeu” (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps).

Background:

NASA’s Perseverance rover is exploring the Jezero Crater on Mars and attempting to collect its first rock samples.

About Perseverance Rover:

It was launched in 2020 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V.

Why is this mission significant?

1. It carried a unique instrument, MOXIE or Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment: which for the first time manufactured molecular oxygen on Mars using carbon dioxide from the carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere (ISRU means In Situ Resource Utilization: or the use of local resources to meet human needs or requirements of the spacecraft).
2. It carried Ingenuity, the first ever helicopter to fly on Mars.
3. It is the planned first step to bring back rock samples from Mars for analysis in sophisticated laboratories on Earth: with the goal of looking for biosignatures: or signatures of present or past life.

These are some of the key mission objectives:

1. Look for signs of ancient microbial life.
2. Collect Martian rock and dust samples for later return to Earth.
3. Deliver an experimental helicopter.
4. Study the climate and geology of Mars.
5. Demonstrate technology for future Mars missions.

What is the reason for the near-term interest in Mars?

1. Mars is located in the very near backyard (about 200 million km away).
2. It is a planet that humans can aspire to visit or to stay for a longer duration.
3. Mars had flowing water and an atmosphere in the distant past: and perhaps conditions to support life.
4. It also has implications for commercial travel.