This Mars Parking Spot Is Perseverances Home For The Next Two Weeks

This Mars ‘Parking Spot’ Is Perseverance’s Home For The Next Two Weeks

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The solar conjunction is happening soon. To get ready for it, Perseverance just found a parking spot where it’ll rest over the coming weeks.

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This Mars Parking Spot Is Perseverances Home For The Next Two Weeks

After an exciting few weeks exploring Mars and collecting rock samples, NASA’s Perseverance rover has now found a ‘parking spot’ where it’ll take it easy for the first two weeks of October. For people following Perseverance lately, it’s safe to say the Martian rover has been keeping itself plenty busy. It’s collected its first rock samples, explored areas of interest for NASA scientists back on Earth, and captured thousands of gorgeous photos all along the way. Paired with the Ingenuity helicopter, the robotic duo has proven invaluable multiple times over since they landed in February.

Following a lot of exciting discoveries, however, Perseverance will soon get a lot quieter. That’s because something called the ‘solar conjunction’ is quickly approaching. Once every two years, the Sun blocks the line of sight between Earth and Mars — resulting in poor communication between people on Earth and Martian robots. There’s nothing harmful or dangerous about the solar conjunction, but it does create a temporary slowdown in what missions can be conducted.

With the solar conjunction quickly approaching, the Perseverance Twitter account just shared pictures of where it’ll be parked during this time. The account shared the two photos seen above, along with the following message: “I’m parked in a sweet spot between dunes and a rock outcrop, ready for a 2-week solar conjunction, when the Sun blocks signals to and from Mars.” The second photo of the rock outcrop is especially gorgeous. It shows a sea of rocks covering Mars’ sandy surface, along with a glimpse of the eerie Martian sky in the background. Like so many of the photos Perseverance captures, it’s a reminder of just how different Mars truly is from our home here on Earth.

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What Perseverance Will Do During The Solar Conjunction

Despite NASA not being able to directly communicate with Perseverance during the solar conjunction, that doesn’t mean the rover will be doing nothing. While in this cozy parking spot, Perseverance will use its Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer sensors to study the Martian weather during this unique period. It’ll also use its RIMFAX radar to capture interesting sounds with its onboard microphones, in addition to taking photos of any ‘dust devils’ nearby. While it’s less intensive work than what Perseverance is normally up to, this also isn’t a vacation for the rover.

As for NASA’s other Martian robotics, they’ll also be conducting similarly basic tasks. Ingenuity will send weekly status updates to Perseverance from its own parking spot 575 feet away, the Curiosity rover will capture its own weather measurements, InSight will keep using its seismometer to study the inside of the planet, and the three orbiters above Mars (Odyssey, Reconnaissance, and MAVEN) will “continue relaying some data from the agency’s surface missions back to Earth.” The solar conjunction is expected to last between October 2 and October 16. That means the next couple of weeks won’t be very active for Mars-related discoveries. Thankfully, we can rest assured Perseverance (and its other robotic friends) will be kept safe and busy during this time — especially when such scenic parking spots are available.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nasa-perseverance-mars-rover-parking-spot-solar-conjunction/

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