OER Project Exchange… We’re going to Mars with Megan McGroarty and the Arizona State University Mars 2020 Mastcam-Z Team // April 12 - 14, 2021

My students are super excited about this amazing opportunity.  Here are some of the questions they have asked so far:

1. How long did it take to build Perseverance, and did you run into any major problems in the building process?
2. Has there been any evidence that shows that there might be life on Mars, or that life once existed on Mars?
3. How much does Perseverance weigh, and was this the maximum amount that could be placed on the rocket that sent Perseverance into space?
4. How will the soil samples get back to Earth, and what specifically are you looking for in these samples?
5. How did you prep the cameras for the space flight and for touching down on Mars?
6. If a camera were to fail, are there any ways for fixing it from Earth?
7. Will Perseverance come back to Earth?
8. What was the most difficult part of developing the camera system for Perseverance?
9. How many prototypes did you go through in the creation of Perseverance?
10. Was there anything that did not make it onto Perseverance that you would have liked to have seen?  If so, what was it?
11. In terms of cost, what percentage of the total budget was spent on the cameras?
12. Besides the cameras not turning on, what was your biggest fear for this mission?
13. From the time the cameras snap a picture, how long does it take for the image to reach Earth?
14. Can you explain how the images get from Mars to Earth?
15. In your opinion, how close are we to putting a person or persons on Mars?

How long did it take to build Perseverance, and did you run into any major problems in the building process? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

From the time when the instrument payload was announced (July 31,2014) to when the rover was shipped off to Cape Canaveral, FL (February 2020), that was a span of five and half years. Early mission design work goes back to 2013, before the Announcement of Opportunity, soliciting scientists for instrument proposals to put on the planned rover.

The Mastcam-Z didn’t run into any major problems, but we did encounter several smaller problems during the development and assembly of the camera system. Some components had failures that caused delays, since we had to analyze the failures and decide on a corrective action. These issues were often related to problems with fabrication quality control, or materials quality control.

Has there been any evidence that shows that there might be life on Mars, or that life once existed on Mars? - answered by Megan

An amazing question! Astrobiology is one of the main reasons behind Perseverance’s mission, to search for the possibility of life being or having been on Mars. Two important instruments on Perseverance that will be used to look for life are SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) and WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), which will work together to map the presence of certain materials and organic molecules on the surfaces of rocks. Additionally, the rover landed in Jezero Crater, a geologically rich area with features to suggest it may have been formed by water in the past. And with water there could be life!

How much does Perseverance weigh, and was this the maximum amount that could be placed on the rocket that sent Perseverance into space? - answered by Megan

The rover weighs 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms), slightly less than a compact car. This is due to the large size of the rover (about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall (about 3 meters long, 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall)) as well as all of the necessary instrumentation attached to it. As for your point about the maximum amount of weight that can be placed on the rocket, that is a great question! The rocket that the rover was launched on was the Atlas V, which can accommodate for a variety of missions, it just depends on the configuration. And of course, there are other rockets used in different missions.

How will the soil samples get back to Earth, and what specifically are you looking for in these samples? - answered by Megan

In a process referred to as “sample caching,” the rover will collect samples with its drill from Martian rocks and soil to then store the sample cores in tubes on the surface of Mars. Those drop-off points are then mapped, to make them easier to find and go back to later on. Eventually, there is the future possibility of that sample being picked up by a future mission to the red planet. From these collected samples, which would be the first collection from another planet, scientists would be able to learn more about Mars and the possibilities of life on it. For more information on sample collection: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/a-martian-roundtrip-nasas-perseverance-rover-sample-tubes

How did you prep the cameras for the space flight and for touching down on Mars? - answered by Megan

As with anything that goes into space, we have to test it first here on Earth. At Arizona State University, devices such as the Mastcam-Z cameras are built within clean labs on campus and then tested under environments similar to what they would experience in space and, in this case, on Mars.

If a camera were to fail, are there any ways for fixing it from Earth? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

Possible failure is one of the reasons for installing two, nearly identical cameras as part of Mastcam-Z. There is no possible way to correct mechanical or physical problems with cameras. Issues that are software based can be updated by patching the software onboard the camera digital electronics assembly (DEA).

Will Perseverance come back to Earth? - answered by Megan

Unfortunately no, Perseverance will remain on Mars. Although, the samples that the rover collects along its journey will eventually be sent back to Earth with future missions.

How many prototypes did you go through in the creation of Perseverance? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

As part of the development process, the Mastcam-Z team delivered both an engineering qualification model (EQM) and as well as a testbed unit (TBU), in addition to the two flight cameras. The design of Mastcam-Z was based on the very successful Mastcam camera system onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (better known as the Curiosity rover), with the addition of zoom capabilities.

Besides the cameras not turning on, what was your biggest fear for this mission? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

The other biggest fear is the rover not turning on after the transition from cruise software to surface software! Luckily we are now past that point in the mission, and the rover (and all its instruments) are working flawlessly.

On images and data getting sent back to Earth - answered by Megan

Data from the three antennas on the rover gets sent back to Earth to be received by the Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN is an international network of antennas (in the desert in California, US; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia) placed in locations 120 degrees apart from each other on the Earth. This is so scientists can receive data from places beyond Earth consistently, like data (and pictures) from NASA’s Perseverance Rover. The data itself may take 5 to 20 minutes to reach Earth, but things such as pictures may take longer to piece together and process on Earth.

In your opinion, how close are we to putting a person or persons on Mars? - answered by Megan

Personally, I feel we are getting closer to putting a person on Mars, but closer yet even to sending someone to the Moon. In fact, the first crewed mission since the Apollo Missions (which ended in 1972) is scheduled to launch in 2024! This will be one of the first of many planned Artemis missions. One of the goals of Artemis is to establish sustainable exploration by the end of the decade, so we could go further into space to places such as Mars. For more information on the Artemis missions: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

How long did it take to build Perseverance, and did you run into any major problems in the building process? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

From the time when the instrument payload was announced (July 31,2014) to when the rover was shipped off to Cape Canaveral, FL (February 2020), that was a span of five and half years. Early mission design work goes back to 2013, before the Announcement of Opportunity, soliciting scientists for instrument proposals to put on the planned rover.

The Mastcam-Z didn’t run into any major problems, but we did encounter several smaller problems during the development and assembly of the camera system. Some components had failures that caused delays, since we had to analyze the failures and decide on a corrective action. These issues were often related to problems with fabrication quality control, or materials quality control.

Has there been any evidence that shows that there might be life on Mars, or that life once existed on Mars? - answered by Megan

An amazing question! Astrobiology is one of the main reasons behind Perseverance’s mission, to search for the possibility of life being or having been on Mars. Two important instruments on Perseverance that will be used to look for life are SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) and WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), which will work together to map the presence of certain materials and organic molecules on the surfaces of rocks. Additionally, the rover landed in Jezero Crater, a geologically rich area with features to suggest it may have been formed by water in the past. And with water there could be life!

How much does Perseverance weigh, and was this the maximum amount that could be placed on the rocket that sent Perseverance into space? - answered by Megan

The rover weighs 2,260 pounds (1,025 kilograms), slightly less than a compact car. This is due to the large size of the rover (about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall (about 3 meters long, 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall)) as well as all of the necessary instrumentation attached to it. As for your point about the maximum amount of weight that can be placed on the rocket, that is a great question! The rocket that the rover was launched on was the Atlas V, which can accommodate for a variety of missions, it just depends on the configuration. And of course, there are other rockets used in different missions.

How will the soil samples get back to Earth, and what specifically are you looking for in these samples? - answered by Megan

In a process referred to as “sample caching,” the rover will collect samples with its drill from Martian rocks and soil to then store the sample cores in tubes on the surface of Mars. Those drop-off points are then mapped, to make them easier to find and go back to later on. Eventually, there is the future possibility of that sample being picked up by a future mission to the red planet. From these collected samples, which would be the first collection from another planet, scientists would be able to learn more about Mars and the possibilities of life on it. For more information on sample collection: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/a-martian-roundtrip-nasas-perseverance-rover-sample-tubes

How did you prep the cameras for the space flight and for touching down on Mars? - answered by Megan

As with anything that goes into space, we have to test it first here on Earth. At Arizona State University, devices such as the Mastcam-Z cameras are built within clean labs on campus and then tested under environments similar to what they would experience in space and, in this case, on Mars.

If a camera were to fail, are there any ways for fixing it from Earth? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

Possible failure is one of the reasons for installing two, nearly identical cameras as part of Mastcam-Z. There is no possible way to correct mechanical or physical problems with cameras. Issues that are software based can be updated by patching the software onboard the camera digital electronics assembly (DEA).

Will Perseverance come back to Earth? - answered by Megan

Unfortunately no, Perseverance will remain on Mars. Although, the samples that the rover collects along its journey will eventually be sent back to Earth with future missions.

How many prototypes did you go through in the creation of Perseverance? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

As part of the development process, the Mastcam-Z team delivered both an engineering qualification model (EQM) and as well as a testbed unit (TBU), in addition to the two flight cameras. The design of Mastcam-Z was based on the very successful Mastcam camera system onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (better known as the Curiosity rover), with the addition of zoom capabilities.

Besides the cameras not turning on, what was your biggest fear for this mission? - answered by Ernest from Mastcam-Z Team

The other biggest fear is the rover not turning on after the transition from cruise software to surface software! Luckily we are now past that point in the mission, and the rover (and all its instruments) are working flawlessly.

On images and data getting sent back to Earth - answered by Megan

Data from the three antennas on the rover gets sent back to Earth to be received by the Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN is an international network of antennas (in the desert in California, US; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia) placed in locations 120 degrees apart from each other on the Earth. This is so scientists can receive data from places beyond Earth consistently, like data (and pictures) from NASA’s Perseverance Rover. The data itself may take 5 to 20 minutes to reach Earth, but things such as pictures may take longer to piece together and process on Earth.

In your opinion, how close are we to putting a person or persons on Mars? - answered by Megan

Personally, I feel we are getting closer to putting a person on Mars, but closer yet even to sending someone to the Moon. In fact, the first crewed mission since the Apollo Missions (which ended in 1972) is scheduled to launch in 2024! This will be one of the first of many planned Artemis missions. One of the goals of Artemis is to establish sustainable exploration by the end of the decade, so we could go further into space to places such as Mars. For more information on the Artemis missions: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/