Do you think the most modern car in the world is the Bugatti Veyron? Or Formula 1 cars? Nothing like this! Despite all their "coolness", these are still ordinary cars. Yes, thanks to such models, the auto industry makes constant small steps forward. But they do not allow making a huge leap for the whole of humanity. And a clumsy and rather strange vehicle called the Curiosity did it! After all, Curiosity does not travel on planet Earth. This is the newest rover, which last week not only successfully landed, but also began to send us the first photos. And this means that one of the most complex projects in the history of all astronautics has been crowned with success.
Building a new rover took a long time. The competition for the Martian car project was announced back in April 2004. As a result, the engineers of two industrial "monsters" Boeing and Lockheed Martin took up the creation of the rover. Initially it was assumed that the rover will hit the road in 2009, but due to all sorts of problems, it was decided to postpone the launch to 2011. By the way, it is interesting that the name Curiosity (translated as "Curiosity") was coined by ... a 12-year-old schoolgirl named Clara Ma, who won a specially organized competition. Among other potential names (perhaps they will be used in the future) were: Wonder (“Miracle”), Sunrise (“Sunrise”), Adventure (“Adventure”), Journey (“Journey”), Pursuit (“Aspiration”), Vision ("Vision"), Amelia and Perception ("Perception").
Among all the planets solar system Mars (the fourth planet from the Sun) is the most similar to Earth (the third planet from the Sun). Mars has an atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide. Plus, the atmosphere is very rarefied. But at the same time, the temperature on the planet is not as low as it might seem. On average, minus 50 degrees, but, say, at the equator at noon, we are already talking about plus 20 degrees (but at the poles in winter the temperature drops to minus 153).
Of course, Curiosity bears little resemblance to the cars we are used to. At first sight. And yet this is a real vehicle that has wheels (there are six of them), independent suspensions, an engine, a battery, and so on. Moreover, if all previous rovers were more like toys, then Curiosity even in its dimensions resembles a passenger car. Its length is about three meters, and its weight is about 900 kg. This is five times heavier than the previous American rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
V automotive world the trend is that each next generation of the car is larger than the previous one. This is true for rovers as well, with Sojourner being the smallest and Curiosity the largest. An intermediate position is occupied by Opportunity.
And such dimensions forced NASA engineers to develop fundamentally new way landing on a distant planet. After all, if earlier a scheme was used in which a platform sat down on a solid surface, from which the rover moved out, then in the case of Curiosity, it became clear that such a platform would be too large. Therefore, the so-called "sky crane" was invented, thanks to which Curiosity "landed" directly on its own wheels - a special jet platform hovered over Mars after firing the parachute, lowered Curiosity on special cables (they were then cut off) and flew off to the side. And the new landing pattern is very interesting. According to NASA experts, it allows you to send objects to Mars that are larger than Curiosity. Much larger.
Curiosity landed on Mars on August 6 this year. The landing site is the 154-kilometer Gale Crater, in the center of which is the 5-kilometer Aeolis Peak. Gale Crater is believed to have once been a sea. This means that a variety of minerals could be preserved on its surface. By Sol 10, all ten major Curiosity tools are expected to be operational. And by Sol 30, a two-meter manipulator arm will begin to work, which will collect soil samples and send them to minilabs for research. What is a sol? This is the name of the Martian day, which lasts 24.66 Earth hours. By the way, a year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days.
If you have not yet understood what we are talking about now, then here is another hint for you - the main task of Curiosity is not so much the study of minerals and photographing the Red Planet. The purpose of Curiosity is ... - attention! - preparation for the development of its human! Yes, yes, this is not a joke. So far, NASA is cautious about their plans for the future, but no one doubts that the next global goal is to land a man on Mars. Moreover, not just a landing, but the creation of a whole base on the planet for work for a long time (after all, only a flight to Mars lasts about 9 months).
The Curiosity rover has already begun work. While he has not yet taken up the study of soil and the search for water, however, the first photographs of the Red Planet have already been received. Curiosity is equipped with several cameras that not only allow you to take photos, but are also responsible for orienting the rover on the planet, looking for obstacles and helping to develop a route.
One more interesting feature Curiosity is the "fuel" for engines. Previously, solar panels were used for such vehicles. However, Curiosity is too large and heavy (by the way, 900 kg is its earth mass, on Mars it weighs 340 kg), and solar panels simply would not be enough for it. That is why the engines and various research equipment on the new rover use the decay energy of plutonium-238, which is enough to generate 2.5 kWh of thermal energy and 125 W of electricity. NASA says that 4.5 kilograms of plutonium will be enough for 14 years of operation (however, the Americans are still cautious about the fact that Curiosity will operate for about two years - they say, we'll see later).
One of the chambers, called ChemCam, is designed to work with a special laser that uses a beam to vaporize substances that are on the planet. ChemCam determines the radiation spectrum chemical composition these substances.
What will the car called Curiosity give us? So far, nothing. At the moment, this is nothing more than pure science. However - and you can be sure of this - it is projects like Curiosity that allow humanity to develop and come up with something new. Despite all its seeming modesty, Curiosity can be put on the same level with such greatest achievements of mankind as Gagarin's flight or landing a man on the moon.
Mars car park
The first celestial object where a man managed to send a self-propelled vehicle was natural satellite Earth. It's about about Lunokhod-1, which was created by Soviet scientists. The interplanetary station delivered the planet rover to the surface of the Moon on November 10, 1970, moreover, five (!) people controlled the eight-wheeled vehicle from the Earth: commander, driver, antenna operator, navigator and flight engineer. What was a lunar rover? Actually a car! Weight - 900 kg, chassis length - 2215 mm, track width - 1600 mm, wheel diameter - more than half a meter, and the maximum speed on the lunar surface was 4 km / h.
"Lunokhod-1" rode on the Earth's satellite until September 30, 1971, and its "replacement", "Lunokhod-2", explored the Moon from January 15 to June 4, 1973.
Interestingly, the Soviet planetary rover was also the first to land on the surface of Mars! A machine with the complex name “Permeability Assessment Device - Mars” (abbreviated as PrOP-M) reached the Red Planet on November 27, 1971, but failed in its mission: the descent vehicle crashed during landing ... Moreover, an attempt to re-land on the fourth planet from the Sun was made completely soon, on December 2, but the scientists were let down by ... the weather. The device managed to work out only 20 seconds, after which a dust storm destroyed the ingenious technique.
The Soviet rovers (there were two of them) did not fulfill their mission, after which the Mars exploration program was suspended.
The Soviet rover looked like a compact box (dimensions - 25 cm x 22 cm x 4 cm), which was guided by sensors (the device independently determined which side the obstacle was on) and walked (!) On the surface with a pair of skis. But the rover was moving slowly, at a speed of 1 m/h, and after each passed meter it stopped to receive a command from the Control Center. Note that the commands were received not by the device itself, but by the descent vehicle, with which the "researcher" was connected by a 15-meter cable.
Baby Sojourner (mass during the operation on Mars - 10.6 kg, length - 65 cm) explores his first - on the surface of the Red Planet - a stone.
After the unsuccessful attempts of the USSR in the exploration of Mars, earthlings took a time out, and the next planetary rover landed on the soil of a celestial body only on July 4, 1997. At that moment, Russia was not up to large-scale space programs, so the Americans took over: the US Sojourner (in honor of Truth Sojourner, who fought for the rights of blacks) landed on July 4, 1997, but, for technical reasons, the rover separated from the lander only on July 5, and went to explore the Red Planet on July 6, having a spectrometer to study the chemical composition of rocks.
A 360-degree panorama of Chris Plain, captured by the camera of the lander that brought the Sojourner rover to the Red Planet.
The Americans preferred to abandon the walking scheme, which was worked out by Soviet specialists, and equipped the Sojoyner with wheels, or rather, with six 13-centimeter "rollers", each of which rotated independently. Inside the car, 11 DC motors with a power of 3.2 W (which were powered by a solar battery) were hidden: 6 motors set the rover in motion, 4 more set the direction of movement, and the latter lowered and raised the spectrometer. The engineers endowed the explorer of Mars with a fair amount of cross-country ability - he leaned 45 ° without tipping over and confidently overcame obstacles up to 20 cm high.
Sojourner is heading for a rock formation called "Yogi" - this is the second object explored by the American machine.
Sojourner completed his "business trip" on September 17, 1997 - that's when NASA specialists managed to contact their brainchild last time. During this time, the rover, using a spectrometer, studied several stones and took 550 photographs. The results of the research conducted by the "Marswalker" finally convinced scientists that this planet was "wet and warm." American taxpayers were also pleased: the cost of the program, which gave nice results, turned out to be relatively low - 287 million dollars.
The Opportunity rover is folded into a protective descent vehicle (right) and sent by a Delta-2 rocket to the fourth planet from the Sun.
The next two vehicles, Spirit (second name - MER-A, Mars Exploration Rover - A) and Opportunity (or MER-B), were twins. This generation of rovers also remained six-wheeled, but received a much larger set of equipment: a microscope and a drill were added to the spectrometer and cameras. Interestingly, the slipping that motorists are struggling with has become a boon for planetary rovers - “slipping” one of the wheels, “Spirit” dug up soil for research. Otherwise, in terms of the device, there is nothing new - for each wheel - one electric motor, separate motors for turning the car and driving the "servo arm" holding the devices.
Above - the landing platform of the Spirit rover, and below - a panorama of the 200-meter Bonneville crater, taken by the camera of the self-propelled vehicle.
First, on January 4, 2004, Spirit landed on Mars, and on January 25, 2004, Opportunity reached its destination, which landed on the other side of the planet. As part of this mission, it was planned to study sedimentary rocks, but none were found. But MER-A drilled a hole for the first time on the Red Planet, and MER-B dug the first trench on this celestial body and “saw” thin, earth-like clouds. At the end of 2009, Spirit tried to overcome the dune, but got stuck in such a way that he could not get out of the sand trap. But Opportunity continues to work!
The lander was left empty (right), while Opportunity set off to study the planet, including the Fire Bluff of Endurance Crater (lower left).
On the "unknown paths" Opportunity managed to roll almost 35 thousand meters, studying the soil and samples rocks, as well as taking panoramic photographs, so now there are a couple of active "researchers" on the Martian surface - Opportunity and Curiosity. Thus, during the exploration of Mars, four rovers worked on this planet, including the American newcomer. In the foreseeable future, several new all-terrain vehicles will also visit the fourth planet from the Sun: landings of the Russian Mars-Aster and the European ExoMars are scheduled for 2018, and in 2022 they want to deliver samples of alien soil to Earth.
“Our traces will remain on the dusty paths of distant planets,” was sung in a Soviet song. And so it happened. Take, for example, Mars: the paths on it are really dusty: the atmosphere there, of course, is less dense than on Earth, but the force of gravity is four times less, and the movement of rarefied gases easily raises dust columns above the surface of Mars, and sometimes global ones rise (then there are on the whole planet) dust storms. The longest in the history of observations lasted from September 1971 to January 1972, that is, almost half of the earth's year. This is what "dust devils" look like - tornadoes, taken by the Curiosity rover.
The paths are dusty, and there are human footprints - in a broad sense - on Mars. Now there are about two dozen man-made devices: three Soviet vehicles, nine American, one British and Schiaparelli, built by specialists from the European Space Agency with the participation of Russian scientists, and orbital stations that have descended from orbit: not all of them are known where they are now, therefore, the exact number of artificial vehicles that are now sweeping up the Martian sand cannot be named.
Mars-1 and Mars-2: the first, but unsuccessful
The first were the Soviets. In 1971, two automatic interplanetary stations (AMS) Mars-2 and Mars-3 reached the surface of the Red Planet. Each carried a small ProOP-M rover, a box on skids tied to a stationary module with a 15-meter cable: ProOPs were supposed to provide the first pictures of the surface of a distant planet taken on the spot.
Both were unlucky: they landed in the midst of that very terrible, global dust storm, in November and December 1971. Mars 2 crashed on landing, Mars 3 landed undamaged, and it was a victory: the first successful soft landing on the surface of Mars in history. The station even began to transmit a television signal to Earth, but after 14.5 seconds it stopped and no longer contacted. What happened is still unclear. However, the mission was not completely failed: firstly, then scientists received the first image of the Martian surface - like this:
And secondly, in addition to the landing module, there was an orbital station, and it honestly worked from December to August, transmitting measurement results to Earth magnetic field, atmospheric composition, photo- and IR-radiometry.
Soviet rovers failed to leave a trail on Mars. It would have looked unusual: if the ProOPs had gone, they would have left behind them not a track, but a ski track. In the early seventies, they didn’t know anything about what the surface of Mars looked like, and Soviet engineers proposed a variant with “skis” - in case Mars is snowy fields or endless sands.
First successes, Viking mission
The first fully successful mission to Mars was the orbiter-lander pairs of the US Viking mission. The first Viking successfully landed on the surface and worked for more than six years. Viking would have continued to work if not for the operator's error when updating the program: the device was forever silent in 1982. The second Viking lasted four years while the batteries were working. The Vikings took and sent to Earth the first photographs of Mars, including panoramic and color ones.
Black and white panorama of Mars taken by the Viking II station
Sojourner: First Rider
Since then, Mars has not been visited, until in 1996 the Delta II launch vehicle with the Mars Pathfinder mission vehicles - the lander, later named after Carl Sagan, and the Sojourner rover - rose.
Sojourner did a great job: it was designed for 7 sols (Martian days), and worked for more than 80, traveled 100 meters on the surface, sent many photographs of the surface of Mars and spectrometry results to Earth.
NASA's first failures: Mars Surveyor 98
High hopes were placed on this program: two AMS - Mars Climate Orbiter for studying Mars from orbit and the Mars Polar Lander lander. After that, they decided that it was not atmospheric disturbances or operator errors that were to blame for the accident of both devices, but lack of money and haste. On the descent module, Deep Space 2 penetrator probes flew to Mars, which, having gained speed, entered the surface of the planet and transmitted data on the composition of the soil to Earth.
The failure of the Beagle
In 2003, the British sent an apparatus to Mars: the Beagle 2 lander, named in memory of Charles Darwin's ship, was supposed to look for traces of life on Mars. the mission ended in failure, communication with the device was lost during landing. Only in 2015, the Beagle was found in photographs and the cause of the accident was understood: the solar panels did not deploy near the device.
Success Story: Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity
Since 2004, the story of NASA's Mars triumph begins. One after another, four vehicles land on Mars, three rovers - Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and the Phoenix automatic station - the first and so far the only one in the Martian polar region. Opportunity and Curiosity are still on the move. The Martian wind that killed the first Soviet probes has become a helpful assistant: it blows dust and sand off Opportunity's solar arrays.
Three successful NASA rovers (models): Sojourner, Opportunity, Curiosity
Opportunity proved that there was once water on Mars, and fresh water, and Curiosity's list of achievements is too extensive to include here. The largest and heaviest of the vehicles ever to land on the surface of the Red Planet, Curiosity is huge compared to the first Soviet rovers - they were no larger than a microwave. High hopes are placed on Curiosity: for the time remaining to it, the device should tell scientists everything they need to know in order to send people to Mars. The rover determines the composition of soils, measures the radiation background; he is a geologist, a climatologist, and a bit of a biologist - at least he is looking in the soil and atmosphere for evidence that processes that are characteristic of life as we know it on Earth can or could take place on Mars.
The last guests on Mars and in the vicinity are the vehicles of the Russian-European mission ExoMars. The first part of the mission, implemented last year, consisted of the orbital and descent units. The orbital successfully took its place in orbit, and the Schiaparelli descent vehicle crashed, having managed, however, to send the last message - the measurement results and parameters of its systems. In 2020, the second part of the mission, the lander and rover, will head to Mars. Their design will take into account the pedostat that led to the Schiaparelli accident, so they seem to have more chances to fly.
Self-portrait "Curiosity"
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ( Mars Science Laboratory, abbr. MSL), "Mars Science Laboratories" - NASA mission, during which the third generation was successfully delivered and operated Curiosity (Curiosity, - curiosity, curiosity). The rover is a self-contained chemistry laboratory several times larger and heavier than the previous Spirit and Opportunity rovers. The device will have to travel from 5 to 20 kilometers in a few months and conduct a full analysis of Martian soils and atmospheric components. Auxiliary rocket engines were used to perform a controlled and more precise landing.
The launch of Curiosity to Mars took place on November 26, 2011, and a soft landing on the surface of Mars took place on August 6, 2012. The expected lifetime on Mars is one Martian year (686 Earth days).
MSL is part of NASA's long-term robotic exploration of Mars Mars Exploration Program. In addition to NASA, the project also involves the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Project Manager is Doug McCuistion of NASA's Other Planets Division. The total cost of the MSL project is approximately $2.5 billion.
Specialists of the American space agency NASA decided to send a rover to Gale Crater. In a huge funnel, the deep layers of the Martian soil are clearly visible, revealing the geological history of the red planet.
The name "Curiosity" was chosen in 2009 among the options proposed by schoolchildren, by voting on the Internet. Other options included Adventure("Adventure"), Amelia, Journey("Journey"), perception("Perception"), Pursuit("Pursuit"), Sunrise("Sunrise"), Vision("Vision"), Wonder("Miracle").
Story
Assembled spacecraft.
In April 2004, NASA began screening proposals for equipping the new rover with scientific equipment, and on December 14, 2004, a decision was made to select eight proposals. At the end of the same year, development and testing of the components of the system began, including the development of a single-component engine manufactured by Aerojet, which is capable of delivering thrust in the range from 15 to 100% of maximum thrust at a constant boost pressure.
The creation of all components of the rover was completed by November 2008, with most of the tools and software MSL continued to be tested. The mission's budget overrun was about $400 million. The following month, NASA delayed the MSL launch to late 2011 due to insufficient testing time.
From March 23 to March 29, 2009, a vote was held on the NASA website to choose a name for the rover, 9 words were given to choose from. On May 27, 2009, Curiosity was announced as the winner. It was suggested by Kansas sixth grader Clara Ma.
The rover was launched by an Atlas-5 rocket from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011. On January 11, 2012, a special maneuver was carried out, which experts call "the most important" for the rover. As a result of the perfect maneuver, the device took a course that brought it to the optimal point for landing on the surface of Mars.
On July 28, 2012, the fourth minor correction of the trajectory was carried out, the engines were turned on for only six seconds. The operation was so successful that the final correction, originally scheduled for August 3, was not required.
The landing was successful on August 6, 2012 at 05:17 UTC. The radio signal announcing the successful landing of the rover on the surface of Mars reached at 05:32 UTC.
Objectives and goals of the mission
On June 29, 2010, engineers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory assembled Curiosity in a large clean room in preparation for the rover's launch in late 2011.
MSL has four main goals:
- establish whether there ever existed conditions suitable for the existence of life on Mars;
- get detailed information about the climate of Mars;
- get detailed information about the geology of Mars;
- to prepare for the landing of a man on Mars.
To achieve these goals, MSL has six main objectives:
- determine the mineralogical composition of Martian soils and subsoil geological materials;
- try to detect traces of a possible course of biological processes - by the elements that are the basis of life as it is known to earthlings: (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur);
- establish the processes by which Martian rocks and soils were formed;
- evaluate the process of evolution of the Martian atmosphere in the long term;
- determine the current state, distribution and circulation of water and carbon dioxide;
- establish the spectrum of radioactive radiation from the surface of Mars.
Also, as part of the research, the effect of cosmic radiation on components during the flight to Mars was measured. This data will help estimate the levels of radiation that await people on a manned expedition to Mars.
Compound
| migratory module |
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The module controls the trajectory Mars Science Laboratory during the flight from Earth to Mars. Also includes components for in-flight communication and temperature control. Before entering the Martian atmosphere, the flight module and the descent vehicle are separated. |
| Back part capsules |
 |
The capsule is needed to descend through the atmosphere. It protects the rover from the influence of outer space and overloads during entry into the atmosphere of Mars. In the back there is a container for a parachute. Several communication antennas are installed next to the container. |
| "Heavenly Crane" | After the heat shield and the rear of the capsule have completed their task, they undock, thereby clearing the way for the vehicle to descend and allowing the radar to determine the landing site. Once undocked, the crane provides an accurate and smooth descent of the rover to the Martian surface, which is achieved through the use of jet engines and is controlled by radar on the rover. | |
| Mars rover Curiosity | The rover, called Curiosity, contains all scientific instruments, as well as important communications and power systems. During flight, the landing gear folds to save space. | |
| Frontal part capsules with heat shield |
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A heat shield protects the rover from extreme high temperature, acting on the descent vehicle during braking in the Martian atmosphere. |
| Descent vehicle |  |
The mass of the descent vehicle (shown assembled with the flight module) is 3.3 tons. The descent vehicle is used for controlled safe descent of the rover during braking in the Martian atmosphere and soft landing of the rover on the surface. |
Flight and landing technology
The flight module is ready for testing. Pay attention to the part of the capsule below, in this part there is a radar, and at the very top there are solar panels.
Trajectory of movement Mars Science Laboratory from Earth to Mars was controlled by a flight module connected to the capsule. The structural element of the flight module was a ring truss with a diameter of 4 meters, made of aluminum alloy, reinforced with several stabilizing struts. On the surface of the flight module, 12 panels were installed connected to the power supply system. By the end of the flight, before the capsule entered the Martian atmosphere, they generated about 1 kW of electrical energy with an efficiency of about 28.5%. Lithium-ion batteries were provided for energy-intensive operations. In addition, the power supply system of the flight module, the batteries of the descent module, and the Curiosity power system were interconnected, which made it possible to redirect energy flows in the event of a malfunction.
The orientation of the spacecraft in space was determined using a star sensor and one of two solar sensors. The star tracker observed several stars selected for navigation; used the solar sensor as a reference point. This system was designed with redundancy to improve mission reliability. To correct the trajectory, 8 engines were used, running on hydrazine, the stock of which was contained in two spherical titanium tanks.
Since the middle of the twentieth century, human space exploration has reached a new level. Rapid technological development has made it possible to launch research vehicles into space. One of the types of such devices is planetary rovers, which, in turn, are divided into several subspecies: lunar rovers and rovers. Mars rovers are vehicles designed to explore the planet Mars. They are able to move on the surface, collect soil and rock samples, and take photographs. One such vehicle that is most famous is the Curiosity rover.
In the entire history of the study of Mars, four research vehicles have successfully landed. Currently, only two of them continue to work.
First launches
The first full-fledged rover was designed in the USSR in 1971. It was called the "patency assessment device - Mars", abbreviated as PrOP-M. The first launch attempt took place in November 1971. The interplanetary station Mars-2 was supposed to lower the rover to the surface of the planet. Due to an error in the operation of the equipment, a smooth landing did not work. The rover's descent angle turned out to be too sharp, the parachute system could not stand it. The device crashed on the surface of the planet.
In parallel with Mars-2, the Mars-3 interplanetary system was launched, approaching the red planet a few weeks later. Mars-3 was also supposed to deliver the PrOP-M rover. This time the landing was more successful. The device successfully landed on the surface and managed to transmit a fuzzy image of the terrain to Earth. However, after 14 seconds, communication with the rover was cut off forever. There is still no consensus about what happened to him. The most popular hypotheses speak of falling into a dust storm that damaged the system of the device.
PrOP-M from Mars-3 became the first artificial vehicle in history to successfully land on the surface of Mars. This rover also distinguished itself by the presence of a unique system of movement - skis. Such an unusual choice was made because of the poorly studied surface of Mars.
Successful missions on the surface of Mars
Sojourner
The first fully successful rover mission took place only in 1997. It was part of the American Mars Pathfinder program. The goal of the program was the delivery and descent of the Sojourner rover to the surface of the red planet. The landing was not too soft - after a strong impact with the surface, the rover bounced off it several times before coming to a stop. Despite all the fears, the device did not receive serious damage and was completely ready for work. However, there was a problem with Pathfinder's connection to the NASA space network. But even here everything worked out - the connection was established within a day, and the rover began to fulfill its goals.
Sojourner had to complete the following tasks:
Conduct rock analysis
Take photos at the specified coordinates
Explore the composition of the atmosphere
The computer of the device worked without an operating system and had very modest characteristics:
Processor Intel 80C85
RAM 512 kB
Rewritable memory 186 kB
This was enough to complete all the tasks. Communication with the Earth was provided to the rover by an antenna broadcasting a signal to the orbital station, which had a direct connection with the NASA scientific center.
The rover drew energy for operation from solar panels installed on its surface. The capacity of the batteries allowed him to work for several hours even at night.
The Sojourner rover had 3 cameras. Two of them were used to create wide panoramic shots. In total, the device took more than 500 photographs of the surface.
Sojourner's soil analysis showed that Mars contains a chemical composition close to Earth's. The study of stones confirmed the theory of scientists about high volcanic activity in the distant past.
Sojourner's mission was scheduled for 7 days, with a possible extension to 30 if successful. However, the rover exceeded all expectations, remaining operational for 83 days. Before the failure of Sojourner, the distance traveled by the rover was 100 meters.
An interesting fact is that the Mars Pathfinder program was allocated relatively low funds, but it became a success. At the same time, earlier and more high-budget projects suffered a crushing failure.
Mars Exploration Rover
Following the success of Pathfinder, NASA set to work preparing a new and larger mission to Mars. The new space program is called MER, which stands for Mars Exploration Rover. 2 new rovers named "Spirit" and "Opportunity". In January 2004, both rovers were successfully delivered to the planet. This was the first time that rovers had been soft-landed. Soft landing was provided by new engineering solutions:
enlarged parachute
Airbags made of durable synthetic material
Auxiliary rocket motors to slow landing speed
The devices were delivered to different regions of Mars. Their main task was to study sedimentary rocks in craters. The rovers were supposed to analyze and classify minerals. Based on the results, scientists were able to estimate the likelihood of life on Mars, which turned out to be ambiguous. Channels on the surface of the planet indicate the presence of water in them in the past, and analysis of the soil has a close chemical composition to the earth. The chemical analysis of one of the stones was the first full proof of the existence of water on Mars. Based on these discoveries, the most popular hypothesis was the theory of the existence of life on Mars millions of years ago, which was destroyed as a result of high tectonic activity on the planet.
The devices are completely identical in design to each other.
Like Soljourner, the rovers are powered by solar panels. This time, their design has been improved and made in a honeycomb style. This approach increases the fault tolerance of the system. If one or more cells fail, the rest will continue to work. The capacity of the batteries themselves has also been increased. Now the rovers could perform continuous work in cloudy weather and at night.
The cameras of the MER program rovers are capable of taking the highest quality images of Mars. Even the later Curiosity apparatus did not surpass them in quality. The cameras are capable of taking 360-degree stereo shots. This feature allowed the rovers to automatically create maps of the planet's surface.
Another innovation was the danger avoidance cameras, called Hazcam. A computer with their help can automatically avoid potentially dangerous areas on the planet.
The expected duration of operation of both devices was 90 days. But the rovers exceeded all expectations dozens of times. "Spirit" worked for 6 years. In 2009, he got stuck in a sand dune and a year later he was no longer able to get in touch. Its twin rover Opportunity broke all records. In 2007, having fallen into a dust storm, he lost contact with the Earth. But Opportunity got in touch within a day. As of 2018, it still continues to function.
Curiosity
In 2011, NASA launched the Curiosity rover. Nine months later, the device made a successful landing on the surface of the red planet.
The Curiosity rover had a number of tasks:
Detailed study of the climate of Mars
Detailed surface analysis
Search for traces of the possible existence of life on the planet in the past
Performing preparations for landing a man on Mars
Curiosity is equipped with two computers with the same specifications:
256 kB ROM
256MB DRAM
2 GB writable memory
Processor RAD750
Operating system VxWorks
The peculiarity of the installed processor is its high resistance to radiation.
The installation of two computers is due to the possible failure of one of them.
The computer automatically monitors the state of the rover. For example, it regulates the temperature of the device, depending on the time of day. At night, the temperature of Mars drops significantly and Curiosity turns on the self-heating. Also, the computer regularly sends a report on its technical condition to Earth. More complex functions, such as taking samples of Martian soils or photographing the surface, are assigned by NASA operators.
The Curiosity rover is equipped with a large number of cameras. Each chamber is designed to conduct different studies.
MastCam. The optical system consists of two cameras. Of the possibilities - shooting photos at a resolution of 1600 x 1200 and shooting video at a resolution of 720p. All the beautiful landscapes of Mars are made from it.
MAHLI. This system is located on the so-called Curiosity robot arm. Used to obtain microscopic photographs of the soil.
MARDI. This camera filmed the surface of Mars during the descent of the apparatus to the surface. Subsequently, it was not used.
chemcam. Infrared camera. With the help of an emitted laser, it analyzes the light coming from the rocks.
APXS. X-ray imaging system. They are necessary for a more detailed study of the rock composition.
Just a month after landing on Mars, the Curiosity rover made a significant discovery. Traces of an ancient stream have been found. An analysis of the bottom showed that the water in it flowed at a rate of approximately 1 meter per hour. There have long been hypotheses about the presence of ice reserves under the surface of Mars. But the discovery of Curiosity finally proves that there used to be liquid water on the surface.
In addition to many cameras, the Curiosity rover is equipped with a drill. After drilling the surface of the planet, soil particles fall into a special bucket, where they are analyzed. A detailed study of soil samples made it possible to begin active preparations for sending a man to Mars. The need for such a study is to measure radiation and possibly find harmful fumes.
Failed missions
The Soviet Union made several attempts to launch its rover to the red planet in the early seventies. In 1970, two projects were developed under the code names "Mars-4NM" and "Mars-5NM". These were heavy Soviet rovers that were supposed to be delivered to Mars by the H-1 rocket. The projects were closed because the rocket failed test launches. A total of 4 launches were made, each of which ended in fire and destruction of the skin.
In 1998, NASA began another development program for the exploration of Mars called "Mars Surveyor 98". In 1999, the interplanetary station and the Mars Climate Orbiter were launched. Both devices broke apart after entering the atmosphere of the red planet. The failure of the project is blamed on poor funding and short deadlines.
Another failure in the exploration of Mars was the Russian Phobos-Grunt project. The device was supposed to collect soil samples from Mars and its moon Phobos. The launch took place in November 2011. Due to malfunctions in the propulsion system, the device did not have enough power to leave the earth's orbit, where it remained. A few months later, Phobos-Grunt burned down in the dense layers of the atmosphere.
New missions
In May 2018, a new spacecraft, InSight, was launched to Mars. He became part of the Discovery program. The purpose of the mission is to study internal structure Mars. The same people who prepared Operations Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity were responsible for developing the program. In November, the device successfully landed on the planned landing site and began to perform tasks.
In the summer of 2020, Roscosmos plans to launch the Exomars spacecraft. The rocket module should deliver the new rover by 2021. The goal of the project is to search for traces of the existence of life on Mars.
In 2020, NASA plans to launch another planetary rover to Mars. The project is called "Mars-2020" and includes several revolutionary solutions. A small drone will be attached to the rover, which will be able to move through the air and gain access to places inaccessible to the rover. Microphones will also be installed on the device, which will make it possible to record sound on Mars for the first time.
This is to make it clear that we are complaining about the weather in vain. On the left, Mars is still in a relatively calm state, and on the right - a breeze up to a hundred meters per second. At such speeds, clouds of dust and sand, particles about one and a half millimeters in size, rush over the surface. Martian summer.
Here, for example, is a tornado captured by the Spirit rover in 2005. These are called dust devils. If it hits, firstly, nothing is visible, and secondly, the body of the rover will sparkle from such friction. And thirdly, the whirlwind can simply demolish the entire research mission.
With weather forecasts, as you know, we, earthlings, have always been not very good. Please: that by the end of November the Moscow region will be covered with snow. What can we say about the Martian meteorology of the 1970s.
In the light of all this, imagine that the year is 1971 and two interplanetary stations are flying to the Red Planet at once - and each of them has a descent vehicle. These were the Soviet "Mars-2" and "Mars-3". "Mars-1" was also there, back in the 1960s, but then there was no task to land the device, it was only necessary to fly past the planet. So, in May 1971, with an interval of ten days, two developments of the Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin NPO were launched one after the other. Both are multi-ton, or rather, four tons of 625 kilograms each. By the way, such heavy things have not yet flown to Mars before them.
Five months pass, the flight is normal, the trajectory was corrected according to the plan, there are some four or five weeks left before arriving on Mars - and suddenly scientists find out that a dust storm is starting there. It broke out in the area of Noachis Terra (Noah's Land in Latin), and a week later it covered the entire south polar cap. Look here: on the right below, in fact, Noachis Terra, that is, the epicenter of the elements, and above and to the left - Xanthe Terra, the Land of Xanth. There, on November 27, Mars-2 is trying to land. A malfunction occurs, the vehicle descends at too much angle - and the brakes simply cannot cope with it. The rover crashes. He became the first, in principle, ended up on Mars.
Now let's look to the left. It says Terra Sirenum, Land of the Sirens. Also, you know, not the safest distance from the Noah's Ark engulfed in a storm. There is the crater Ptolemy - the site of the landing of the apparatus "Mars-3" on December 2. This time the system did not fail: both the radio sensor for determining the height, and the brake engine, and the parachute worked. We managed to make a soft landing, deploy the necessary equipment in a minute and a half, and even start broadcasting. But, unfortunately, it lasted only 14.5 seconds and never resumed. Here's what he delivered.
At first glance, interference in which you can’t make out anything. But experts understand that it was an attempt to send something like the following picture to Earth. This is a landscape of the Moon, if anything - an image from the Luna-9 apparatus. Just for an illustrative example.
Well, it's time to take a look at the path traveled since then, that is, a map of Mars with the rover landing sites marked on it. It is gratifying that the Soviet apparatus has not been forgotten. Only, it seems, the location of "Mars-2" was incorrectly indicated, the Earth of Xanth is not there.
Photo © NASA
And, of course, it is impossible not to mention that, until recently, not a single space agency could say exactly where Mars-3 rests. But there was a sincere admirer of astronautics named Vitaly Yegorov, who spent days looking at the most enlarged images from Martian maps, and at the same time "employed" his subscribers in social networks. As a result, they chose the most similar objects, contacted scientists, and even ensured that the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter once again took pictures of the desired area of the surface. And in the end they said: they say, yes, indeed, it looks like Mars-3.
And soon - as they promise, in the summer of 2020 - one more point will appear on the maps of Mars: the landing site of the device "
