Timeline of Mars 2020
The Mars 2020 mission and its rover, Perseverance, and helicopter Ingenuity, were launched from Earth on 30 July 2020. On 15 February 2022, The New York Times reported an overview of Mars 2020 mission events since landing in Jezero crater on Mars in February 2021.[1] As of November 18, 2024, Perseverance has been on the planet Mars for 1332 sols (1369 total days; 3 years, 274 days).
Current weather data on Mars is being monitored by the Curiosity rover and the Insight lander.[2][3] The Perseverance rover is also collecting weather data. (See the External links section)
Overview of mission
Prelaunch (2012–2020)
- 4 December 2012: Mars 2020 mission announced by NASA.
- 8–10 February 2017: Workshop held to discuss eight proposed landing sites for the mission. The three sites chosen were Jezero crater, Northeastern Syrtis Major Planum, and Columbia Hills.
- 30 July 2020: Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.
Landing and initial tests (February–May 2021)
After arriving on the 18th of February, Perseverance focused on validating its systems. During this phase, it used its science instruments for the first time,[4] generated oxygen on Mars with MOXIE,[5] and deployed Ingenuity. Ingenuity began the technology demonstration phase of its mission, completing five flights before transitioning to the operations demonstration phase of its mission.
- 18 February 2021: Landing in Jezero crater on Mars
- 4 March 2021: Perseverance rover's first test drive.
- 5 March 2021: NASA named the Perseverance rover landing site "Octavia E. Butler Landing".[6]
- 3 April 2021: Deployment of Ingenuity
- 8 April 2021: NASA reported the first MEDA weather report on Mars: for 3–4 April 2021, the high was "minus-7.6 degrees, and a low of minus-117.4 degrees ... [winds] gusting to ... 22 mph".[7]
- 19 April 2021: First major flight test of Ingenuity
- 20 April 2021: MOXIE made 5.37 g of oxygen gas from carbon dioxide on its first test on Mars
- 22 April 2021: Second flight test of Ingenuity[8]
- 25 April 2021: Third flight test of Ingenuity
- 30 April 2021: Fourth flight test of Ingenuity.[9]
- 7 May 2021: Fifth flight test of Ingenuity.[10] First one-way flight on Mars. Ingenuity's mission transitions from being a technology demonstration to being an operations demonstration.[11][12]
- 22 May 2021: Sixth flight test of Ingenuity, first of the operations demonstration.[13] A glitch with the navigation system caused the helicopter to land 5 meters away from its intended landing site.[14]
Cratered floor campaign (June 2021-April 2022)
The Cratered Floor Campaign was the first science campaign.[16] It began on 1 June 2021, with the goal of exploring the Crater Floor Fractured Rough and Séítah geologic units. To avoid the sand dunes of the Séítah unit, Perseverance will mostly travel within the Crater Floor Fractured Rough geologic unit or along the boundary between the two units. The first of Perseverance's sample tubes are planned to be filled during this expedition.[15]
After collecting the samples, Perseverance will return to its landing site, before continuing to the delta for its second science campaign. At some point, it will store the filled sample tubes in a designated area for the upcoming Mars sample-return mission.[17] While Perseverance embarked on its first science campaign, Ingenuity continued to travel alongside the rover as part of its operations demonstration campaign.[11]
- 1 June 2021: Perseverance begins its first science campaign.[15]
- 8 June 2021: Seventh flight of Ingenuity.[18]
- 21 June 2021: Eighth flight of Ingenuity. The “watchdog issue”, a recurring issue which occasionally prevented Ingenuity from taking flight, is fixed.[19]
- 5 July 2021: Ninth flight of Ingenuity. This flight is the first to explore areas only an aerial vehicle can, by taking a shortcut over the Séítah unit. The sandy ripples of the Séítah unit would prove too difficult for Perseverance to travel through directly.[20][21][22]
- 7 July 2021: To test its sampling system, the rover ran one sample tube through inspection, sealing and storing and the attempt was successful. Up to this point, the rover has now used 1 of its 43 sample tubes.[23]
- 24 July 2021: Tenth flight of Ingenuity.[24]
- 4 August 2021: Eleventh flight of Ingenuity.[25]
- 5-6 August 2021: Perseverance attempted to acquire its first sample from the ancient lakebed by drilling out "finger-size cores of Martian rock for return to Earth."[26][27][28] This attempt did not succeed, as the rock sampled was not sufficiently consolidated to produce an intact core and has turned to dust.[29] Up to this point, the rover has now used 2 of its 43 sample tubes.[30] Later on, the mission team confirmed that though soil samples were not cached, but in this process the rover cached the gas samples of the martian atmosphere in it, being the first gas samples cached by the rover.[31]
- 16 August 2021: Twelfth flight of Ingenuity.[32]
- 1 September 2021: A second sampling attempt on a rock, named "Rochette", was successful.[33][34]
- 4 September 2021: Thirteenth flight of Ingenuity.[35]
- 8 September 2021: A third sampling attempt, also on Rochette, was successful.[36]
- 1 to 14 October 2021: Mars Solar Conjunction.
- 24 October 2021: Fourteenth flight of Ingenuity.
- 6 November 2021: Fifteen flight of Ingenuity.[37]
- 15 November 2021: A sample was taken from the Brac Outcrop in the South Séítah Unit.
- 21 November 2021: Sixteenth flight of Ingenuity.[38][39]
- 24 November 2021: Another sample was taken from the Brac Outcrop.
- 5 December 2021: Seventeenth flight of Ingenuity. Full data from the flight was not received until later, as Ingenuity initially landed in an area which prevented communication with the rover.[40]
- 15 December 2021: Eighteenth flight of Ingenuity.
- 18 December 2021: A sample was taken from Issole in the South Séítah Unit.
- 29 December 2021: Perseverance attempted to take another sample from Issole, but was unable to successfully cache it.
- 31 January 2021: The failed sample attempt from Issole was abandoned, and a new, successful sample attempt was made on Issole.
- 8 February 2022: Nineteenth flight of Ingenuity. It had been planned for earlier, but a dust storm in the area caused delays.
- 25 February 2022: Twentieth flight of Ingenuity.
- 7 March 2022: A sample was taken from Sid in the Séítah Unit.
- 10 March 2022: Twenty-first flight of Ingenuity.
- 13 March 2022: A second sample was taken from Sid in the Séítah Unit.
- 20 March 2022: Twenty-second flight of Ingenuity.
- 24 March 2022: Twenty-third flight of Ingenuity.
- 28 March 2022: Perseverance enters rapid traverse mode, where it will remain for the rest of the science campaign.[41]
- 3 April 2022: Twenty-fourth flight of Ingenuity.
- 8 April 2022: Twenty-fifth flight of Ingenuity. This flight went faster than all previous flights, at a speed of 5.5 meters per second. It also travelled 704 meters, which was farther than all previous flights.[42]
- 13 April 2022: Perseverance arrives at the Jezero Delta.[43]
- 20 April 2022: Twenty-sixth flight of Ingenuity.
Delta front campaign (April 2022 - Present)
The Delta Front Campaign is the second, currently ongoing science campaign of the Mars 2020 mission. Ingenuity continues to travel alongside the rover as part of its operations demonstration campaign.
- 21 April 2021: Perseverance leaves rapid traverse mode.[44]
Samples cached for the Mars sample-return mission
In the frame of the Mars sample-return mission around 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of soil samples along with some Martian gas samples from the atmosphere will be cached. Currently, samples are being cached by Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover on the surface of Mars. Out of 43 sample tubes, rock sample tubes cached-8,[45] gas sample tubes cached-1,[31] witness tubes cached-1,[23] tubes due to be cached-33. Before launch, 5 of the 43 tubes were designated “witness tubes” and filled with materials that would capture particulates in the ambient environment of Mars.[46]
Location and Current Status
-
Overview map of the Perseverance rover
(18 February 2021) -
Close-up map of the Perseverance rover
(18 February 2021) -
Mars Perseverance rover – possible routes for exploration and study
-
-
Perseverance rover track and Ingenuity helicopter flight zone seen after rover had reached Van Zyl Overlook
-
Ingenuity helicopter flight path and Perseverance Traverse Path showing their current locations. Live link
-
The distance traveled over time of Perseverance and Ingenuity
-
26035 Map-of-Ingenuitys-Ninth-Flight-Path
-
Perseverance enters Séítah on sol 201
-
Perseverance rover viewed from space
(28 September 2021) -
Flight Profile for Ingenuity's Flight 15
-
Dust storm on Mars - Jezero crater (white circle) (9 January 2022)
-
Positioning before the 2021 solar conjunction
R210 is the rover position on sol 210;
H163
1, H174
2 and H193
3 means 1st, 2nd and 3rd landing sites of Ingenuity on the Field H on sols 163, 174 and 193 respectively
Gallery
This section contains an unencyclopedic or excessive gallery of images. |
Self-portraits
Videos
-
Entry, descent, and landing (EDL) on Mars (animation)
-
Mars Perseverance rover - drive view
(1 July 2021)
Images
Perseverance rover on Mars
-
First image received after landing (BW photo)
-
First color photo
-
Perseverance's first study target
-
Rover test drive
(7 March 2021) -
SuperCam calibration target with Mars meteorite
-
SHERLOC calibration target
-
PIXL Calibration target
-
Artuby outcrop
(17 June 2021) -
Examining "paver rocks"
(10 July 2021) -
"CraterFloorFractRough"
(8 July 2021) -
"CraterFloorFractRough"
(15 July 2021) -
Jezero crater - Scarp A
(17 April 2021) -
Garde rock-SHERLOC
(18 September 2021) -
Garde rock-SHERLOC
(18 September 2021) -
Dourbes rock-WATSON
(5 November 2021) -
Dourbes rock-PIXL
(5 November 2021) -
Perseverance looks back at its tracks
(17 March 2022) -
Parachute found
(April 6, 2022) -
Drive to Delta
(Gif; April 9, 2022) -
Jezero Crater Delta view
(April 11, 2022) -
Phobos Solar Eclipse
(Gif; April 20, 2022)
Ingenuity helicopter's flights on Mars
Ingenuity helicopter on Mars
Ingenuity deployment and pre-flight operations on Mars
Landing
-
HiRISE image of Perseverance descent
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HiRISE image (cropped) of descent
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View up at descent stage from Perseverance.
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View of landing from sky crane.
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Dust plume from descent stage right after landing (B+W)
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View of Perseverance from orbit shortly after landing (HiRISE)
Launch
-
AV-088, the Atlas V 541 rocket, at launch
Prelaunch
-
Artist's rendition of rover
-
Rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab
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Helicopter team with Ingenuity
-
Cruise stage connected to the back shell
-
Heat shield and back shell to protect the rover
-
Powered descent stage
-
Five critical components involved in landing the rover
Other images
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Top of rover with "Family Portrait" (B+W)
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"Family Portrait" decal close-up (with text labels added)[47]
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Mars 2020 COVID-19 healthworkers plate
-
Rover DNA inscription
-
MOXIE first Martian oxygen production test on April 20, 2021, graph
-
The full-scale engineering model of NASA's Perseverance rover, OPTIMISM Rover[f]
Wide images
See also
- Astrobiology
- Composition of Mars
- Curiosity rover
- Exploration of Mars
- Geography of Mars
- Geology of Mars
- InSight lander
- List of missions to Mars
- List of rocks on Mars
- Mars Exploration Rover
- Mars Express orbiter
- Mars Odyssey Orbiter
- Mars Orbiter Mission
- Mars Pathfinder (Sojourner rover)
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
- Mars 2020 rover mission
- MAVEN orbiter
- Moons of Mars
- Phoenix lander
- Robotic spacecraft
- Scientific information from the Mars Exploration Rover mission
- Space exploration
- Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory
- U.S. Space Exploration History on U.S. Stamps
- Viking program
- Water on Mars
Notes
- ^ Aerial image by the helicopter Ingenuity
- ^ All images taken by Ingenuity are taken from black-and-white downward-facing navigation camera or horizon-facing terrain camera[49]
- ^ Ingenuity legs are seen clearly on the corners of the each image
- ^ Perseverance rover wheels are clearly seen in top corners
- ^ a b Please see the difference between the image on high-speed spin up test and the one on sol 48, that is the image on sol 48 has the upper blade in diagonal position while the high-speed spin up test has lower blade in diagonal position
- ^ note the difference it is on earth and run by electric cables, while perseverance is on Mars run by MMRTG
References
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (15 February 2022). "On Mars, a NASA Rover and Helicopter's Year of Surprise and Discovery - The past 12 months on Mars have been both "exciting" and "exhausting" for scientists and engineers minding Perseverance and Ingenuity. And the mission is only really getting started". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Dvorsky, George (20 February 2019). "You Can Now Check the Weather on Mars Every Day". Gizmodo. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ Berger, Eric (20 February 2019). "With the best air pressure sensor ever on Mars, scientists find a mystery". Ars Technica. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Perseverance Rover's SuperCam Science Instrument Delivers First Results". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Extracts First Oxygen From Red Planet". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ a b Staff (5 March 2021). "Welcome to 'Octavia E. Butler Landing'". NASA. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ Cappucci, Matthew (8 April 2021). "NASA receives first weather reports from Perseverance rover on Mars at Jezero Crater – The weather data is crucial as the first flight of Ingenuity draws near". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "We Are Prepping for Ingenuity's Third Flight Test". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Ingenuity Completes Its Fourth Flight". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Completes First One-Way Trip". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ a b mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter to Begin New Demonstration Phase". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Why Ingenuity's Fifth Flight Will Be Different". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ NASA/JPL. "Plans Underway for Ingenuity's Sixth Flight". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Surviving an In-Flight Anomaly: What Happened on Ingenuity's Sixth Flight". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ a b c mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Perseverance Rover Begins Its First Science Campaign on Mars". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "To Séítah and Back". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Sample Handling". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ June 2021, Mike Wall 09 (9 June 2021). "Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 7th flight on the Red Planet". Space.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Demo, Teddy Tzanetos, Operations Lead for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter-Ops. "Flight 8 Success, Software Updates, and Next Steps". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Laboratory, Håvard Grip, Chief Pilot & Bob Balaram, Chief Engineer for the Mars Helicopter Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion. "We're Going Big for Flight 9". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ July 2021, Meghan Bartels 06 (6 July 2021). "NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity sails through 9th flight on the Red Planet". Space.com. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Scientist, Håvard F. Grip, Ingenuity Chief Pilot, and Ken Williford, Perseverance Deputy Project. "Flight 9 Was a Nail-Biter, but Ingenuity Came Through With Flying Colors". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Sample Caching Dry Run, 1st sample tube cached". Twitter. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Aerial Scouting of 'Raised Ridges' for Ingenuity's Flight 10". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "North-By-Northwest for Ingenuity's 11th Flight". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Voosen, Paul (31 July 2021). "Mars rover's sampling campaign begins". Science. 373 (6554). AAAS: 477. doi:10.1126/science.373.6554.477. PMID 34326215. S2CID 236514399. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ Voosem, Paul (21 June 2021). "NASA's Perseverance rover to drill first samples of martian rock". Science. AAAS. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "On the Eve of Perseverance's First Sample". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Assessing Perseverance's First Sample Attempt". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "NASA's first Mars sample appears to have crumbled to bits". Science. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ a b mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Perseverance Plans Next Sample Attempt". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ Teddy Tzanetos (15 August 2021). "Better By the Dozen – Ingenuity Takes on Flight 12". Status #321. NASA/JPL. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ Fox, Karen; Johnson, Alana; Agle, AG (2 September 2021). "NASA's Perseverance Rover Successfully Cores Its First Rock". NASA. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (3 September 2021). "On Mars, NASA's Perseverance Rover Drilled the Rocks It Came For - After an earlier drilling attempt failed to collect anything, the rover appeared to gather its first sample. But mission managers need to take another look before sealing the tube". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Lucky 13 – Ingenuity to Get Lower for More Detailed Images During Next Flight". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "https://twitter.com/nasajpl/status/1435772707254063109". Twitter. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|title=
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Flight #15 - Start of the Return Journey". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Flight 16 – Short Hop to the North". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ Meghan Bartels (23 November 2021). "Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars on 16th Red Planet flight". Space.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Flight 17 – Discovering Limits". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Sample Tally for the Crater Floor Campaign". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Mars Helicopter". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Perseverance Rover Arrives at Delta for New Science Campaign". NASA Mars Exploration. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "We've Arrived! Perseverance Starts the Delta Front Campaign". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ "3rd soil sample tube cached". nasa.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Perseverance Sample Tube 266". NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ a b Staff (7 March 2021). "Messages on Mars Perseverance Rover". NASA. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (7 May 2021). "NASA Mars Helicopter Makes One-Way Flight to New Mission - Ingenuity has flown almost flawlessly through the red planet's thin air and will now assist the science mission of the Perseverance rover". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Raw Images From Ingenuity Helicopter". NASA. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
External links
- Current Weather Report on Mars by the Perseverance rover – MEDA
- Current Weather Report on Mars by the Curiosity rover
- Current Weather Report on Mars by the InSight lander
- Perseverance rover: Official website
- Mars 2020: Official website
- Mars 2020: Location Maps
- Perseverance at Van Zyl (AVideo360; 1:40; Spring 2021) on YouTube (related site; 2GB PNG-image)
- Video (03:25) – Mars 2020 – Landing on Mars (18 February 2021) on YouTube
- Video (60:00) – Minerals and the Origins of Life – (Robert Hazen; NASA; April 2014)
- Video (86:49) – Search for Life in the Universe – (NASA; July 2014)
- Video (13:33) – Mars Perseverance rover/Ingenuity helicopter report (9 May 2021; CBS-TV, 60 Minutes)
- Video (03:04) − Exploring Jezero Crater − (NASA; December 2021)