NASA's deputy chief engineer for Al-Jazeera Net: The dream of humans going to Mars in 2030 is not impossible

Tunisian space scientist at the US Space Agency (NASA) Mohamed Obeid is among the direct supervisors of the manufacture and development of the "Perseverance Rover", which has successfully landed on Mars, in an unprecedented scientific achievement in the search for possible effects of life on the Red Planet.

The deputy chief mechanical engineer for the "Mars 2020" project - in his private statement to Al-Jazeera Net, by phone and e-mail - says that the dream of people going to the surface of Mars is not impossible, but it also requires deep and painstaking studies in the short and long term, starting first by examining the possibility of opportunities Previous life on this planet.

Obaid points out that the biggest challenge the team faced, during the 7 tedious journey to go to Mars, was the rugged terrain on which the Perseverance vehicle landed, which is the "Jizero" crater, which is an ancient lake that existed about 3.9 billion years ago.

Obaid explained that the Perseverance trip to Mars will be followed by other trips to explore the signs of life on the planet (Al-Jazeera Net)

Oxygen generation

Our interlocutor outlines two basic post-Mars missions.

The first is to collect Martian rocks and sediments and store them in tubes to be returned to Earth later, and the second will relate to converting carbon dioxide, which is abundant in the planet's atmosphere, into oxygen.

And the generation of oxygen from carbon dioxide gas on the surface of Mars is the biggest challenge, as the Tunisian space scientist points out, as this step will be crucial in future planning to send people to the surface of Mars as an alternative to robots by 2030.

In addition to the precedent of carrying the spacecraft with microphones to record sound on the surface of Mars, Obaid points out that the Perseverance vehicle is equipped with an "Ingenioti" helicopter weighing no more than 5 pounds, charged with solar panels, to fly on Mars, in a virtual tour visible during the coming days in order to explore it.

Ebeid says that he, accompanied by a team of NASA engineers, is now engaged in the manufacture and development of a new rocket that will head in 2028 to Mars to receive the rocky and bacterial samples that the "Perseverance" vehicle has been assigned to prepare in tubes, and then return it to the surface of the Earth to carry out the necessary tests, and to find out the extent of the effects of previous life. In the red planet.

Tunisian space scientist hours before the launch of Perseverance to Mars (Al-Jazeera Net)

With Arab hands

It is noteworthy that the Tunisian scientist also has several scientific contributions since joining the US Space Agency in 2004, specifically the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was entrusted with the function of designing, building, operating and driving robotic space vehicles directed to planets.

Obeid calls on Tunisian and Arab youth to believe in their abilities and adhere to their dreams and that nothing is impossible. The son of Sfax, in southern Tunisia, recalls the tragic accident of the US space shuttle "Challenger" explosion in 1986, in which 7 astronauts were killed.

He added, "This tragic space accident had a great impact on me, and one of the reasons for my entry into the field of space engineering, I said at the time that I wanted to work one day at NASA to solve the problem that occurred in the doomed shuttle to prevent it from recurring."

Obeid hopes that he and the rest of the Arab scientists at NASA will open the way for a new generation of fellow countrymen who dream to ascend to Mars in 2030, adding, "I hope of course he will be Tunisian."

This, and the flight of the Spacecraft Perseverance and its arrival to Mars on February 18, was followed by media and popular attention, from Arabs in general and Tunisians in particular, who celebrated on social networks the contribution of their countrymen to this unprecedented scientific achievement.

It is noteworthy that Tunisia is on a date next March, coinciding with the anniversary of independence, with a historical scientific and space achievement, represented by the launch of the first Tunisian satellite "Challenge 1" that was made with 100% Tunisian capabilities and expertise.

A few days ago, the Tunisian "Internet of Things" satellite was delivered to the Russian company pledging to launch (GlavKosmos), placed in the launch capsule, and put into operation in preparation for launching into space.