Production: Adriana Toca
In this interview in the Planet VERY section, we have the privilege of chatting with Jorge Pla-García, researcher in Planetary Sciences at the Center for Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA) associated with the NASA Astrobiology Program and the Space Science Institute of Boulder, USA. The reason: a historical fact in space exploration.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter completed its first 40-second flight over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, marking the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Ingenuity Mars was built by JPL, which also manages this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by the Directorate of Scientific Missions, the Directorate of Aeronautical Research Missions and the Directorate of Space Technology Missions of NASA. NASA’s Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center provided important flight performance analysis and technical assistance during the development of Ingenuity.
A key objective of the Perseverance mission on Mars is astrobiology, including searching 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 store Martian rocks and regoliths (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 Perseverance Mars 2020 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.
