NASA’s fifth exploratory rover is scheduled to head for Mars later this month to try and answer key questions about the potential for life on the red planet.
Before the rover leaves Earth, current and former members of UC Merced’s Fundamental Tribology Lab conducted critical tests that will provide key information for the mission’s success.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) Mars 2020 mission is part of NASA’s long-term Mars Exploration Program. The Mars Perseverance rover is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as early as July 30. Once the rover arrives, its Sampling and Caching System will collect, package and store about 40 surface samples — a crucial part of the mission — to possibly be returned to Earth to help NASA identify potential biological specimens.
Beyond the Episode
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ABC30: UC Merced students helped with design research on NASA’s Mars rover
NASA celebrated the launch of its most advanced Mars rover, the Perseverance, at Cape Canaveral, and it included some important work from students at UC Merced. The mission marked the first step in an ambitious project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.
