Question

Future Mars Missions. Pick one of the Mars missions that is being planned or considered for the future, and visit its Web site. Write a short report about the purpose of the mission and its current status.

Short answer

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission explores ancient life signs and collects samples on Mars; it successfully landed and is actively conducting research.

Step-by-step solution

Select a Future Mars Mission

Choose a Mars mission that is currently being planned or considered. For this exercise, let's focus on the NASA's Mars 2020 mission, specifically the Perseverance rover.

Visit the Mission's Official Website

Access the official NASA website dedicated to the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. This site provides comprehensive details regarding the mission's objectives and updates.

Identify the Purpose of the Mission

The Mars 2020 mission aims to explore the Jezero Crater to seek signs of ancient life and collect soil samples that may eventually be returned to Earth as part of a future mission. It also tests new technology for future human and robotic exploration.

Determine the Current Status of the Mission

As of the most recent update, the Perseverance rover was successfully launched and landed on Mars in February 2021. It is currently operational, conducting scientific experiments and collecting samples.

Key concepts

Perseverance rover

The Perseverance rover is a robotic scientist sent to Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was designed with the primary goal of searching for signs of ancient life on Mars. Equipped with various scientific instruments, Perseverance has the capability to analyze the geology and climate of Mars. It is a robust explorer built to endure the harsh Martian environment and help gather invaluable data for future missions.
Perseverance is tasked with collecting rock and soil samples, which could reveal clues about the planet's past. This rover is unique because it also serves as a precursor to potential human exploration, testing new technologies that could be used in manned missions. Its landing on Mars was right on target, navigating the challenging terrain of its chosen site with precision.

Jezero Crater

Jezero Crater is the landing site chosen for the Perseverance rover. It is a promising region for exploration because scientists believe it once held a lake billions of years ago. This makes it an excellent location to search for signs of ancient life.
The existence of an ancient river delta in the crater gives Perseverance the opportunity to explore sedimentary rock formations. These formations may hold biosignatures, which are chemical indicators of past life. The location's unique geological features offer a rich tapestry for the rover's suite of instruments to examine, thus optimizing the search for signs of ancient microbial life forms on Mars.

NASA Mars missions

NASA has a long history of Mars exploration, with missions designed to understand the Martian environment and assess its potential habitability. The Mars 2020 mission with its Perseverance rover is a recent chapter in this grand exploration story. Other famous missions include the Curiosity rover and the Viking missions.
Each mission aims to build upon the knowledge from its predecessors, painting a comprehensive picture of the Martian landscape.

• Gather data on Mars' weather, geology, and atmosphere.
• Develop technology for future astronaut-led missions.
• Search for signs of past microbial life.

These missions are crucial as they lay the groundwork for potential human settlement on the Red Planet.

ancient life on Mars

The search for ancient life on Mars is at the heart of many NASA missions, including the ambitious Mars 2020 mission. The question captivating scientists is whether Mars once harbored life similar to Earth's microscopic organisms.
Perseverance's mission focuses on unearthing fossilized microbial life if it exists. It’s exploring areas believed to have had water, as microbial life thrived in such conditions on Earth.

• Analyzing rock and soil samples for biosignatures.
• Studying the planet's geology to understand its history.
• Identifying ancient environments that might have supported life.

Understanding Mars's ancient life aids not only in grasping its history but also in preparing for the future, as it could inform us about life elsewhere in the universe.