New NASA rover lands on Mars with a helicopter Image 1. An artist's interpretation of Perseverance's touch down on Mars. Photo: NASA/ JPL-Caltech On February 18, 2021, NASA's new rover, Perseverance, arrived on Mars, a neighboring planet in our solar system. During a seven-month journey, it traveled 470 million kilometers (300 million miles) to reach Mars. The exploration robot landed in a region called the Jezero Crater. Near the planet's equator, the crater is 45 kilometers wide (28 miles). Perseverance will spend two years searching for evidence of microbial life that could have existed on Mars billions of years ago. Microbes are very small living things, such as bacteria. Learning more about the composition of Mars can help scientists better understand the planet's history. The mission will also test new technology that will help to lay the groundwork for future robotic and human missions to Mars. By Newsela staff on 02.19.21 Word Count 639 Level 1130L This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela. com. High-Tech Data Collector Perseverance is about the size of a car, has six wheels and, like all rovers, moves on its own. It has two computers which it uses to navigate: one computer figures out where the rover needs to go and the other computer "sees" its surroundings. The rover will gather scientific data, or information, using several high-tech instruments. It will take photos, map the planet's surface, and determine the kinds of chemicals and minerals it finds. Other tools will collect soil samples and store them until they are returned to Earth. Perhaps the most interesting new instrument on board is the tiny helicopter named Ingenuity. Weighing only 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds), it will be the first powered aircraft to attempt a flight on another planet. The helicopter's short solar-powered flights will help scientists observe Mars from a viewpoint not provided by rovers on the ground or by orbiters high up above the planet. How Ingenuity performs on Mars will provide more information about how humans and other robots might fly there in the future. The helicopter works a little differently than on Earth, as Mars's atmosphere is 99 percent less dense than the atmosphere on Earth. An atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds a planet. Density measures how tightly packed particles are. The helicopter might have a harder time achieving lift, which is a mechanical force that holds an aircraft in the air by directly opposing its weight. Lift is the push that lets an object move up. If the object moves upward, the lift is greater than the object's weight. Ingenuity compensates for these issues. For one thing, the helicopter is extremely light and its blades are much larger and spin many times faster than what would be required in Earth's thicker and denser atmosphere. Years In The Making Using technology to explore Mars goes back more than 50 years. Engineering a landing on Mars is hard, and only about 40 percent of missions sent to Mars have been successful, according to NASA. The first two NASA spacecraft to land on Mars were Viking 1 and 2 in 1976. Later, scientists began using moving robotic vehicles called rovers to explore the planet. Perseverance is the fifth rover to land on Mars, joining four other six-wheeled bots named Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. Humans On Mars? So far, exploring planets such as Mars has only been done using robots. But this could change during your lifetime, as space agencies like NASA and private companies are working to make human missions to Mars a reality. The hope is that the Perseverance mission, along with others, will help achieve this goal.

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