SPECIAL REPORT: EXPLORING MARS JULY 2020 Sponsored by SR Protolabs Ad 0720.qxp 7/8/20 5:45 PM Page 1 CONTENTS SIX DECADES OF DISCOVERY WHAT’S NEXT 2 Mars Milestones 20 Perseverance: Getting to Mars 3 Mariner 26 Looking for Life 4 Viking 28 The Science of Mars 2020 6 Pathfinder 32 Next Giant Leap: Humans on Mars 7 Mars Global Surveyor 8 Mars Odyssey ON THE COVER The Mars 2020 robotic mission, 10 Mars Exploration Rovers with the Perseverance rover, not only will seek signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the 12 Phoenix ancient past but also will search for signs of past microbial life itself. Another milestone will be 13 Mars Science Laboratory deployment of the Ingenuity helicopter, the first aircraft to attempt powered flight on 14 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter another planet. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech) 16 Maven 17 Insight 18 Mars 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT July 2020 1 Mars Milestones tarting with Mariner 1 in 1962 and culminating with the launch of Mars 2020 in July, NASA has seen many Smilestones in Mars exploration. Today, a science fleet of robotic spacecraft studies Mars from all angles. Three NASA spacecraft are in orbit at Mars and two robotic spacecraft are at work on the surface. Two spacecraft engineers stand with three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Front and center is a flight spare of Sojourner, left is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, and right is test rover Curiosity. This collage shows the variety of soils found at landing sites on Mars. The elemental composition of the typical, reddish soils was investigated by NASA’s Viking, Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover, and Curiosity missions using X-ray spectroscopy. The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit’s landing region is seen in both pictures at top; Viking’s landing site is shown at lower left; and a close-up of Curiosity’s Gale Crater soil target called “Portage” is at lower right. NASA at Mars: 20 Years of 24/7 Exploration 50 Years of Mars Exploration We Persevere JURIK PETER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM IMAGE: BACKGROUND 2 July 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT Mars Milestones Mariner ith launches spanning the 1960s and early 1970s, the Mariner spacecraft were relatively small Wrobotic explorers, each weighing less than half a ton (without onboard rocket propellant). Mariner 3 and 4 were identical spacecraft designed to carry out the first fly-bys of Mars. Mariner 4, which launched in 1964, collected the first close-up photographs of another planet, showing lunar-type impact craters. In this wide-angle Mariner 9 image, the dark areas tend to lie on the downwind side of the crater floors. Mariner 9 launched in May 1971 and became the first artificial satellite of Mars when it arrived and went into orbit. It revealed a very different planet than expected — one that boasted gigantic volcanoes and a canyon stretching 3,000 miles across its surface. More surprisingly, the relics of ancient riverbeds were carved in the landscape of this seemingly dry and dusty planet. Mariner 9 exceeded all primary photographic requirements by photo- mapping 100 percent of the planet’s surface. BACKGROUND IMAGE: JURIK PETER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM IMAGE: BACKGROUND Mariner 4 Team Sees First Image of Mars Five Ways Mariner 4 Changed Mars Exploration EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT July 2020 3 Mars Milestones Viking ASA’s Viking Project found a place in history when it became the first U.S. mission to land a Nspacecraft (Viking 1) safely on the surface of Mars in 1976 and return images of the surface. Viking also obtained the first soil sample on another planet. This is the first photograph ever taken on the surface of Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully on July 20, 1976. First panoramic view by Viking 1 from the surface of Mars. Viking: Mars Trailblazer Viking 40th Anniversary 4 July 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT SR Optimax Ad 0720.qxp 7/8/20 6:08 PM Page 1 On Board MARS 2020 ROVER PERSEVERANCE When the world is watching for images from Mars, the program’s success rides on performance. When customers require precision, they rely on Optimax. 2011 Curiosity 2005 Spirit & Opportunity 2020 Perseverance optimaxsi.com/space 585.265.1020 | [email protected] Mars Milestones Pathfinder ars Pathfinder landed on July 4, 1997. It was designed as a technology demonstration of a new Mway to deliver an instrumented lander and the first-ever robotic rover (Sojourner) to the surface of Mars. Pathfinder used an innovative method of directly entering the Martian atmosphere, assisted by a parachute to slow its descent through the thin Martian atmosphere and a giant system of airbags to cushion the impact. This image of Sojourner was acquired during its second day on Mars. From landing until the final data transmission in September 1997, Mars Pathfinder returned 2.3 billion bits of information including more than 16,500 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil. Findings from instruments on both the lander and the rover suggest that Mars was at one time in its past warm and wet. Noontime on September 18, 1998. Sojourner’s middle right wheel is raised above the surface. Sojourner is over 12 m from the lander, a mission record. Mars Pathfinder: 20th Anniversary Special Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner Rover 6 July 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT Mars Milestones Mars Global Surveyor ars Global Surveyor began its prime mapping mission in March 1999 and has continued to observe Mthe planet from a low-altitude, nearly polar orbit ever since. Mars Global Surveyor has generated high-resolution images that document gullies and debris flows, suggesting that occasional sources of liquid water — similar to an aquifer — were once present at or near the surface of the planet. This image from Mars Global Surveyor depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars. The ice-rich polar cap (the quasi-circular white area at center) is approximately 621 miles across. The dark, spiral-shaped bands are deep troughs that are in shadow. To the right of center, a large canyon almost bisects the ice cap. The canyon is about the length of the Grand Canyon and up to 1.2 miles deep. EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT July 2020 7 Mars Milestones Mars Odyssey he 2001 Mars Odyssey mission is NASA’s longest-lasting spacecraft at Mars. Its mission includes Tmaking the first global map of the amount and distribution of chemical elements and minerals that make up the Martian surface. The orbiter’s extended operations continue today. Images and other measurements from Mars Odyssey help identify potential landing sites for rovers and landers. This panorama was made from images taken by Odyssey from April 2003 to September 2005. The orbiter’s Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument combines a 5-wavelength visual imaging system with a 9-wavelength infrared imaging system. This image acquired by Odyssey is the first THEMIS image of Mars. It shows the temperature at the south pole of Mars. The extremely cold, circular feature in blue is the carbon dioxide ice cap at a temperature of about -120 °C (-184 °F). The cold region in the lower right shows the nighttime temperatures of Mars. This image covers a length of more than 3,900 miles, spanning the planet from limb to limb. This map of an area within the Arabia Terra region on Mars shows where hydrologic modeling predicts locations of depressions that would have been lakes (black), overlaid with a map of the preserved valleys (blue lines) that would have been streams. Research findings in 2016 interpret the valleys as evidence for flows of liquid water that occurred several hundred million years after the ancient lakes and Mars Pathfinder: 20th Anniversary Special streams previously documented on Mars. 8 July 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT SR Ulbrich Ad 0720.qxp 7/8/20 6:13 PM Page 1 Mars Milestones Mars Exploration Rovers n January 2004, two robotic geologists named Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of IMars. Special rock abrasion tools, never before sent to another planet, have enabled scientists to peer beneath the dusty and weathered surfaces of rocks to examine their interiors. Spirit and Opportunity each found evidence for past wet conditions that possibly could have supported microbial life. In January 2004, twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of Mars. Both exceeded their planned 90-day mission lifetimes by many years. Spirit lasted 20 times longer than its original design until its final communication to Earth in 2010. Opportunity continues to operate more than a decade after launch, breaking the record for extraterrestrial travel in 2015 by rolling more than 26 miles. A Tale of Two Rovers Opportunity Completes its Mission 11 Years and Counting: Opportunity on Mars 10 July 2020 EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT Mars Milestones Mars Exploration Rovers This close-up view of a target rock called “Last Chance” was acquired by the microscopic imager on the arm of Opportunity in 2004. These mineral concretions and other textures in this rock provided evidence about wet environmental conditions in the ancient past at Opportunity’s landing site. Opportunity catches its own late-afternoon shadow in this dramatically lit view eastward across Endeavour Crater. 4 Rover’s-Eye View of a Three-Year Trek on Mars The Challenge of Two Launches Snapshots of Mars EXPLORING MARS SPECIAL REPORT July 2020 11 Mars Milestones Phoenix he Phoenix lander studied its surroundings after landing on a Martian arctic plain on May 25, 2008.