Perseverance, Mars 2020 Rover : Updates

[gongora]

Updates only thread for Perseverance (Mars 2020)

Discussion should go in https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38208.0

[hoku]

https://twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ/status/1363628733987487747
"Hazcam pipeline has been opened"

145 new images at https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/

[Citabria]

Upcoming press conference, 2 pm EST, 1900Z:

[Mammutti]

https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/1363930124547022848

The same video on YouTube:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[Kaputnik]

They're promising a 'firehose' of images on the website imminently.

[Mammutti]

All videos separately in higher resolution.

Parachute Up-View Camera POV



Parachute Up-View Camera 2 POV



Parachute Deploy Slowed to 30% speed



Rover Descent Camera POV



Descent Stage Down-Look Camera POV



Rover Up-Look Camera POV

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1363936183840092168

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1363945457869815809

The two big craters are 1.3 km apart

[Mammutti]

More images have been uploaded (currently there are 736): https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/

[AU1.52]

From watching the descent video and the two different camera views I determined to a very close degree the location of Perseverance on the surface from one of the closest and clearest views from just as the sky crane started to kick up the Martian dust. I found a distinctive surface feature on both the sky crane image and the from the rover image as it was descending with enabled me to superimpose the rover hanging image on the earlier map. Can you find the feature? Here a clue - its directly below the back left wheel.   

[Targeteer]

February 24, 2021
RELEASE 21-023
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gives High-Definition Panoramic View of Landing Site


NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or “head,” 360 degrees, allowing the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover’s second panorama ever, as the rover’s Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, also located on the mast, captured a 360-degree view on Feb. 20.

Mastcam-Z is a dual-camera system equipped with a zoom function, allowing the cameras to zoom in, focus, and take high-definition video, as well as panoramic color and 3D images of the Martian surface. With this capability, the robotic astrobiologist can provide a detailed examination of both close and distant objects.

The cameras will help scientists assess the geologic history and atmospheric conditions of Jezero Crater and will assist in identifying rocks and sediment worthy of a closer look by the rover’s other instruments. The cameras also will help the mission team determine which rocks the rover should sample and collect for eventual return to Earth in the future.

Stitched together from 142 images, the newly released panorama reveals the crater rim and cliff face of an ancient river delta in the distance. The camera system can reveal details as small as 0.1 to 0.2 inches (3 to 5 millimeters) across near the rover and 6.5 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) across in the distant slopes along the horizon.

The detailed composite image shows a Martian surface that appears similar to images captured by previous NASA rover missions.

“We’re nestled right in a sweet spot, where you can see different features similar in many ways to features found by Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity at their landing sites,” said Jim Bell of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, the instrument’s principal investigator. ASU leads operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.

The camera team will discuss the new panorama during a question and answer session at  4 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 25, which will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website, and will livestream on the agency’s Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Daily Motion, and YouTube channels, as well as the NASA app. Speakers include:

    Jim Bell of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, the instrument’s principal investigator
    Elsa Jensen of Malin Space Science Systems, who leads the uplink operations team that sends commands to Mastcam-Z
    Kjartan Kinch of the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, who led the design, construction, and testing of Mastcam-Z’s color calibration targets, which are used to tune the instrument’s settings

Mastcam-Z’s design is an evolution of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover’s Mastcam instrument, which has two cameras of fixed focal length rather than zoomable cameras. The two cameras on Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z dual cameras are mounted on the rover’s mast at eye level for a person 6 feet, 6 inches (2 meters) tall. They sit 9.5 inches (24.1 centimeters) apart to provide stereo vision and can produce color images with a quality similar to that of a consumer digital HD camera.

The Mastcam-Z team includes dozens of scientists, engineers, operations specialists, managers, and students from a variety of institutions. In addition, the team includes deputy principal investigator Justin Maki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

More About the Mission

A key objective of Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

For more about Perseverance, go to:

https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance

[spacexplorer]

Feb. 25, 2021  - 1 p.m. PST / 4 p.m. EST / 21.00 P.M. GMT   
Panoramic View of Landing Site Q&A
https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8873/nasas-perseverance-rover-gives-high-definition-panoramic-view-of-landing-site/


Channels that will carry the live broadcast include:
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Daily Motion, and NASA App
https://www.youtube.com/nasa

Speakers:
- Jim Bell of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, the instrument’s principal investigator
- Elsa Jensen of Malin Space Science Systems, who leads the uplink operations team that sends commands to Mastcam-Z
- Kjartan Kinch of the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, who led the design, construction, and testing of Mastcam-Z’s color calibration targets, which are used to tune the instrument’s settings

[Targeteer]

March 03, 2021
MEDIA ADVISORY M21-029
NASA to Provide Update on Perseverance ‘Firsts’ Since Mars Landing

Since NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover touched down at Jezero Crater Feb. 18, mission controllers have made substantial progress as they prepare the rover for the unpaved road ahead. Mission team members from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will discuss mission “firsts” achieved so far and those to come in a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EST (12:30 p.m. PST) Friday, March 5.

The teleconference audio and accompanying visuals will stream live on the NASA JPL YouTube channel.

Discussing the rover’s progress will be:

    Robert Hogg, Perseverance deputy mission manager, JPL
    Anais Zarifian, Perseverance mobility test bed engineer, JPL
    Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance deputy project scientist, JPL

To participate in the teleconference, media must provide their name and affiliation to Rexana Vizza ([email protected]) no later than 1:30 p.m. EST (10:30 a.m. PST) Friday, March 5. Members of the media and public also may ask questions on social media during the teleconference using #CountdownToMars.

Since landing, NASA’s largest, most sophisticated Mars rover yet has gone through checks on every system and subsystem and sent back thousands of images from Jezero Crater. These checks will continue in the coming days, and the rover will make its first drives. Each system checkout and milestone completed marks a significant step forward as the rover prepares for surface operations. The primary mission is slated for one Martian year, or 687 Earth days.

To learn more about Perseverance, visit:

https://nasa.gov/perseverance

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasapersevere/status/1367252107561111555

This week I’ve been doing lots of health checkouts, getting ready to get to work. I’ve checked many tasks off my list, including instrument tests, imaging, and getting my arm moving. Warming up for a marathon of science.

https://twitter.com/nasapersevere/status/1367643559063523329

A quick test of my steering, and things are looking good as I get ready to roll. My team and I are keen to get moving. One step at a time.

[kdhilliard]

Today's (Friday, March 5) 12:30 PST (15:30 EST / 20:30 UTC) JPL telecon:
‘Firsts’ Achieved Since NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Landing

Discussing the rover’s progress will be:
* Robert Hogg, Perseverance deputy mission manager, JPL
* Anais Zarifian, Perseverance mobility test bed engineer, JPL
* Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance deputy project scientist, JPL

Livestream:



Next Thursday's (March 11) 19:00 PST (22:00 EST / 03:00 UTC) JPL public talk:
The von Kármán Lecture Series: Helicopters in Space

How do you fly a helicopter on Mars? It takes Ingenuity and Perseverance. During this technology demo, Farah Alibay [Systems Engineer, Mars 2020] and Tim Canham [Mars Helicopter Operations Lead] will get into the details of how these craft will manage this incredible task.

Livestream:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasapersevere/status/1367936250271858689

I’m on the move! Just took my first test drive on Mars, covering about 16 feet (5 meters). You’re looking at the very beginning of my wheel tracks. Many more to make.

[Kaputnik]

According to the Perseverance Facebook page, odometry now stands at approximately 70m, and they are driving towards an area which they hope will be suitable to place Ingenuity on the ground for its first flight.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=253064426303409&id=101688614774325

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_theseaning/status/1369133197754306565

We aren't talking nearly enough about the freaking zoom lens on @NASAPersevere

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/arkorobotics/status/1369419177522569227

The LCAM image taken for TRN during EDL are up!
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/

Fun fact: The same camera took all four of these photos!

https://twitter.com/doug_ellison/status/1369420901771603972

[Truncate]

time: 10 March 2021 17h30 (CET), I think the first 1/2 hour in French, rest in English...

N.B. Supercam has an acoustic microphone