Mars 2020 (space mission)

The Mars 2020 space mission, first announced in December 2012, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 30, 2020. Its mission was to land a rover named Perseverance on Mars's surface and deploy a miniature helicopter called Ingenuity. Together, these machines were designed to use radio signals from Earth and their own programming to explore the surface of Mars. A prime objective of Perseverance was to find rock samples that could provide evidence of past water or life on the planet. After a transit of nearly a year, the Perseverance, which carried Ingenuity on its underside, landed successfully on February 18, 2021. Perseverance drove for the first time on the Marian surface on March 4, 2021. Six weeks later, Ingenuity conducted its first flight on April 19, 2021. Originally planned for three flights, Ingenuity would total seventy-two sorties before it was permanently grounded in late January 2024. By February 2024, the rover had driven fifteen miles in its exploration.

Background

Mars has long fascinated scientists and stargazers alike. Its relatively close proximity to Earth, speculation that it once held abundant water, and ongoing theories about possible human colonization have made the planet one of the most appealing subjects of study in the solar system. Human attempts to study Mars up-close date back to the early days of the Space Race, when the United States and Soviet Union competed to send vehicles into space. Dozens of space missions aimed at exploring Mars have launched since 1960. The Soviet Union began these missions in October 1960, although all of their early craft failed to reach the planet. The first United States mission, conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was the Mariner 3 program in November 1964, although this probe malfunctioned and was unable to complete a flyby of Mars.

NASA’s Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to make a successful flyby of Mars, coming within 6,118 miles of its surface on July 14, 1965. The probe transmitted the first up-close pictures of Mars back to the Earth, aiding scientific understanding and paving the way for future missions. The Mariner program, along with the Soviet Mars program, continued with several successful missions and milestones. In the mid-1970s, the United States began the Viking program. By the late 1990s, humans had successfully placed several machines into Martian orbit, and the United States returned to the surface with its Pathfinder mission in 1997. As of 2021, the United States, the Soviet/Russian space agency, the European Space Agency, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates have all launched at least one successful mission to the Red Planet. As of March 2021, only the United States has successfully landed spacecraft on the surface, but other nations had plans to do so in the future.

In the twenty-first century, the drive to explore Mars has become increasingly popular. Technological advances that make probes less expensive and more efficient have opened the path to wider participation. Additionally, discoveries on Mars—particularly evidence of ancient water—have whetted the curiosity of scientists who believe Mars may provide a future home for humanity. Prior to the Mars 2020 mission, the most recent major push to Mars was NASA’s InSight program in 2018. InSight aimed to explore the interior of the planet, while other missions have studied surface features, water content, atmosphere, and weather.

Overview

The Mars 2020 program resulted from a new push to explore the Red Planet with up-to-date technology. The idea originated in December 2012. After a lengthy period of pre-launch activities requiring the expertise of hundreds of scientists, a spacecraft, a rover named Perseverance, and other equipment was prepared and shipped to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch. The launch took place on the morning of July 30, 2020, using an Atlas V-541 rocket—the type used for prior to Mars missions.

After separating from the rocket, the Mars 2020 spacecraft headed toward Mars at a speed of approximately 24,600 miles per hour. Despite this seemingly astonishing speed, the overall trip was about 300 million miles and took about seven months to complete. Engineers periodically checked and corrected the path of the craft to assure it would reach Mars and, more specifically, the chosen landing zone of the Jezero Crater, a major crater on Mars.

After a transit of nearly a year, the Perseverance, which carried Ingenuity on its underside, reached Mars orbit. Engineers began preparation to deploy the lander. On February 18, 2021, using radio-signal guidance from Earth, the car-sized Perseverance rover descended via a parachute through the Martian atmosphere and was lowered to its landing spot by a tether and sky crane. This process, officially known as the entry, descent, and landing phase, was better known to engineers as “seven minutes of terror,” due to the brief and intense actions needed to assure the safety of the mission during this crucial time. The harrowing process and the thrill of its successful conclusion were widely televised and celebrated.

Following instrument and motion tests, the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter began operations on the planet. Perseverance drove for the first time on the Marian surface on March 4, 2021. Ingenuity conducted its first flight on April 19, 2021.

Perseverance had four main objectives for its studies. The first was to search for rocks that appeared to have been formed or altered by water. The second objective was to search for rocks that might contain traces of organic molecules—essentially, the chemical building blocks of life. Other rocks of interest include those that shed light on the geological history of the planet. The third objective was to drill into the surface to gather core samples of material that show the content of the ground below. Finally, the fourth objective was to study the atmosphere, particularly the possibility of converting Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen that would allow potential future human explorers to breathe.

Perseverance and Ingenuity formed a capable tandem in the early years of the mission. The four-pound helicopter was tasked to obtain video of the Martian surface and was useful in scouting paths for the SUV-sized Perseverance to follow. Originally designed for five missions, Ingenuity would ultimately log seventy two. In January 2024, following damage to a rotor, NASA was compelled to retire the system.

In the first three years of its exploratory mission, Perseverance traversed 15 miles through the Jezero Crater, a land feature thought to have been a water source on Mars 3.5 billion years previously. In this timeframe, Perseverance filled nine of its thirty-eight sample tubes with rock cores. These samples are intended to be returned to the Earth for analysis. By the mid-decade of the 2030s, NASA, in partnership with the European Space Agency, can utilize a system where the samples are retrieved and transported.

As Perseverance pressed ahead with its mission of exploration, Mars remainded a focus for NASA. The agency planned a follow-up mission to Mars 2020 and the Perseverance rover which it called EscaPADE. This project studies the planet’s magnetosphere. Something greatly anticipated will be the analysis of surface samples obtained through landings on Mars and its moon Phobos.

As demonstrated by a 2024 publication entitled “Exploring Mars Together,” NASA articulated its broad objectives for the future exploration of Mars. These included more projects aimed at searching for evidence of previous life on the planet, and planetary resources that could sustain future manned missions. Also, NASA will undertake projects that aid a better understanding of geological and climatological processes on the planet.

Beginning with its initial announcement in 2012, the Mars 2020 mission attracted widespread interest and enthusiasm for its lofty goals of searching for water and signs of life on Mars. The rover's name of Perseverance, chosen by a student essayist, signified not only the ongoing dedication of NASA but also the continuing human quest to travel through space.

Bibliography

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