InSight snapped this dusty selfie in early 2019 after deploying its seismometer. Much more dust has now settled on its solar panels. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scientists have peered into the heart of Mars for the first time. NASA's InSight spacecraft, sitting on the Martian surface with the aim of seeing deep inside the planet, has revealed the size of Mars's core by listening to seismic energy ringing through the planet's interior.
The measurement suggests that the radius of the Martian core is 1,810 to 1,860 kilometres, roughly half that of Earth's. That's larger than some previous estimates, meaning the core is less dense than had been predicted. The finding suggests the core must contain lighter elements, such as oxygen, in addition to the iron and sulfur that constitute much of its make-up.
Quite a lot has been going on:
The water on Mars vanished. This might be where it went. - The Economic Times
Seismic Ripples Reveal Size of Mars's Core - Scientific American
Scientists have peered into the heart of Mars for the first time. NASA’s InSight spacecraft, sitting on the Martian surface with the aim of seeing deep inside the planet, has revealed the size of Mars’s core by listening to seismic energy ringing through the planet’s interior.
The measurement suggests that the radius of the Martian core is 1,810 to 1,860 kilometres, roughly half that of Earth’s. That’s larger than some previous estimates, meaning the core is less dense than had been predicted. The finding suggests the core must contain lighter elements, such as oxygen, in addition to the iron and sulfur that constitute much of its make-up.
Another First: Perseverance Captures the Sounds of Driving on Mars – NASA's Mars Exploration
NASA’s newest rover recorded audio of itself crunching over the surface of the Red Planet, adding a whole new dimension to Mars exploration.
As the Perseverance rover began to make tracks on the surface of Mars, a sensitive microphone it carries scored a first: the bangs, pings, and rattles of the robot’s six wheels as they rolled over Martian terrain.
“A lot of people, when they see the images, don’t appreciate that the wheels are metal,” said Vandi Verma, a senior engineer and rover driver at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “When you’re driving with these wheels on rocks, it’s actually very noisy.”
Many things are taking place:
Daily briefing: Mars's core is half the size of Earth's
Multiple teams of researchers have created artificial blastocysts like this one from human stem cells. Credit: UT Southwestern
Mask-clad Singaporeans throng the city's Chinatown on the eve of Lunar New Year in February 2021. Singapore has been more successful than many other regions at controlling outbreaks of COVID-19. Credit: Maverick Asio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
* * *
An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday.
Perseverance Rover Records the Sounds of Driving on Mars - ExtremeTech
The Perseverance rover has been on Mars for a month, which works out to about 27 Martian sols. NASA is still conducting system tests on the vehicle, but it’s started to roll around the surface in recent days. This is the first Mars rover with a microphone, and it captured the eerie sounds of Perseverance driving over the regolith during one of NASA’s tests .
NASA has released two versions of the audio. Below is the processed version with just the “highlights” chosen by the Perseverance team. This version has the background noise filtered out to make the thumps and grinding of the wheels easier to hear. It’s easy to forget Perseverance’s wheels are metal. NASA had to redesign the wheels to be more durable because the sharp Martian rocks have really done a number on the older Curiosity rover.
For some scientists, Mars 2020 is a mission of perseverance | Berkeley News
An artist’s concept of the Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars, part of the Mars 2020 mission. The rover will collect rock and soil samples, seal them in tubes and drop the tubes on the surface for later pickup and return to Earth, potentially by 2031. (Graphic courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Like millions of people around the world, David Shuster and his 7-year-old daughter cheered wildly as the Perseverance rover was lowered by sky crane to the Martian surface on Feb. 18 to start years of exploration. But for him and a subset of the Mars 2020 science team, true gratification will be delayed.
NASA to Host Briefing to Preview First Mars Helicopter Flights – NASA's Mars Exploration Program
Members of the projects will lay out the steps necessary before the helicopter attempts its historic test flights.
NASA will hold a virtual media briefing at 1:30 p.m. EDT (10:30 a.m. PDT) Tuesday, March 23, to discuss upcoming activities for the agency’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter. The teams operating Ingenuity and NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover have chosen the flight zone where the helicopter will attempt the first powered, controlled flights on another planet.
No comments:
Post a Comment