So. . . we will our close Saturday afternoon efforts by re-running a time lapse letterbox render of a series of dust devils, shot on Mars, by Perseverance. It happens that it was on this day, exactly two years ago -- that she first touched down, on Barsoom.
Along with the deployed Ingenuity 'copter, she's been working hard ever since -- per NASA | JPL. She's in Jezero Crater, near the Octavia E. Butler landing field:
. . .Since arriving at Jezero Crater in 2021, the six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover has been examining geologic features and collecting samples of the Red Planet that are central to the first step of the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign. Scientists want to study Martian samples with powerful lab equipment on Earth to search for signs of ancient microbial life and to better understand the processes that have shaped the surface of Mars. . . .
“Anniversaries are a time of reflection and celebration, and the Perseverance team is doing a lot of both,” said Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena. “Perseverance has inspected and performed data collection on hundreds of intriguing geologic features, collected 15 rock cores, and created the first sample depot on another world. With the start of the next science campaign, known as ‘Upper Fan,’ on Feb. 15, we expect to be adding to that tally very soon.”
In addition to the rock cores, Perseverance has collected two regolith samples and one atmospheric sample, and it has sealed three “witness” tubes. . . .
[T]he rover has driven 9.3 miles (14.97 kilometers), but also that as of Feb. 14, its left front wheel has performed 9,423 revolutions. They can tell you not only that the MOXIE (short for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) technology demonstration has produced 3.25 ounces (92.11 grams) of oxygen, but also that the Gas Dust Removal Tool (gDRT) – the little gas-puffing device on the robotic arm – has puffed 62 times to clear residual dust and particles from rock-abrading activities. . . .
The more you know, right? Right! Onward, smiling into the chilly Saturday night, as a hot red coal rises to the southeast now, with. . . a moan. . . that's. . . Mars. And two baby girls here in an hour or so, for a sleep-ova'. . . sweet!
नमस्ते
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