NASA = NASA's new Mars rover "Perseverance" has landed on Mars at the end of Japan time.
In addition to looking for traces of life for the next two years, we plan to conduct flight tests on small helicopters.
NASA's Mars probe, launched from an air force base in Florida, USA last July, flew about 470 million kilometers in outer space for seven months and entered the atmosphere of Mars on the morning of 19th Japan time. ..
After decelerating with a parachute, the spacecraft slowly descended while injecting the engine, and when it approached about 20 meters from the surface of the earth, the rover "Perseverance" was suspended and lowered to the surface of the earth at 6 am on the 19th of Japan time. I made a successful landing before.
At NASA's control room in western California, staff cheered when it was confirmed that Mars had sent data indicating a successful landing.
The landing point of "Perseverance" is thought to have been a lake called "Jezero Crater", and it is expected to find evidence and traces of life on Mars.
In addition, it will be the first helicopter to fly outside the earth if it succeeds in a flight test to see if it can fly even in the thin atmosphere of Mars with a small helicopter weighing 2 kg.
The exploration will take place for nearly two years.
NASA has successfully landed on Mars, but this time it is drawing attention as it is significantly different in its attempt to directly find traces of life.
State of the ground surface taken immediately after landing
Immediately after landing, the rover "Perseverance" that landed on Mars photographed the surface of Mars and sent it to Earth.
In the captured image, stone-like objects can be seen in places on the flat surface, and the shadow of the rover is reflected.
The background of the exploration
Experts point out that this exploration is very different from previous Mars explorations in that it seeks to directly find traces of life.
The main purpose of exploration so far has been to investigate whether the environment of Mars is viable for life.
However, the purpose of this exploration is to use a drill to sample the rocks of Mars and directly find traces of microorganisms and life in them.
The background is that more and more researchers are thinking that it is not strange that life exists on Mars, such as observations showing that there was water on Mars in the past.
Against this background, the movement to create international rules for bringing Mars samples back to Earth is accelerating.
The Committee on Space Research, a global organization of scientists on space and celestial bodies, discusses dangers and countermeasures in the event that an unknown life exists in the sample of Mars brought back.
Among these, the construction of a special facility that isolates samples so that extraterrestrial life does not contaminate the earth, the development of technology to examine life and its traces while isolated, and completely different from the life of the earth. What to do when an organism with a tissue or structure is found is being studied.
In each case, the samples obtained from this exploration will be compiled by the time they are brought back to Earth, and the construction of isolation facilities will proceed according to that policy.
Associate Professor Yohei Suzuki of the Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo, who participates in the study on the Committee on Space Research as the only member from Asia, said, "It has become clear that microorganisms may be able to inhabit even in an environment like Mars. It has been thought that if life really exists on Mars, its traces can be found relatively easily. One of the greatest mysteries of science, whether there is life other than the earth. It is approaching at once, and the world is paying attention. On the other hand, it is necessary to decide the inspection to confirm the safety when the sample is brought back in the international framework, and it is very important from the viewpoint of protecting the world. I'm doing it. "