TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Moves afoot to fix Eskom’s debt problem

      4 July 2022

      Audi South Africa to offer free connectivity upgrades

      4 July 2022

      Shock fuel price increase announced

      4 July 2022

      Wiocc’s data centre business, OADC, appoints CEO

      4 July 2022

      Google’s Equiano cable lands in Namibia

      3 July 2022
    • World

      Tether fails to calm jittery nerves

      4 July 2022

      EU to impose wide-ranging new rules on the crypto industry

      3 July 2022

      Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy

      3 July 2022

      Meta girds for ‘fierce’ headwinds

      1 July 2022

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Science»Nasa’s Perseverance rover blasts off to Mars

    Nasa’s Perseverance rover blasts off to Mars

    Science By Agency Staff30 July 2020
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Artist’s impression of the Perseverance rover on Mars. Nasa/JPL-Caltech

    Nasa launched its latest Mars rover, dubbed Perseverance, on Thursday, the first step in the space agency’s newest effort to hunt for signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples that will eventually be returned to Earth.

    The rover blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket, beginning its six-and-a-half month trip to the Red Planet. Destined to land in Jezero Crater on 18 February, this is the latest effort by the US space agency to learn more about the Martian atmosphere and surface. Perseverance is also carrying a small helicopter named Ingenuity, which, if successful, will be “the first aircraft to fly in a controlled way on another planet”, Nasa said.

    But arguably the most dramatic goal of the mission will be the rover’s attempt to demonstrate a technology that converts carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into oxygen. “In the future, oxygen generated this way could be used by astronauts as rocket propellant and for breathing,” Nasa said. The ability to do so will be a critical consideration in planning human landings and bases on Mars.

    The 1 025kg, 3m-long rover is the biggest and heaviest robotic Mars rover Nasa has ever built. It’s the fourth sent to Mars by Nasa.

    Previous rovers were named Curiosity, Opportunity and Sojourner. Opportunity’s mission was declared complete in February 2019 after 15 years of work when Nasa lost contact with the vehicle. Curiosity continues to explore the planet, and Sojourner finished its mission in 1997.

    The agency also operates the InSight Mars Lander platform, which is exploring below the planet’s surface.  — Reported by Justin Bachman, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP

    Nasa Nasa Perseverance Perseverance rover top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleChina slams Trump for ‘double standards’ over TikTok
    Next Article Huawei to reintroduce MateBook PC line in South Africa

    Related Posts

    Moves afoot to fix Eskom’s debt problem

    4 July 2022

    Audi South Africa to offer free connectivity upgrades

    4 July 2022

    Shock fuel price increase announced

    4 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    The MSP value proposition has evolved – here’s why it matters

    4 July 2022

    Presenting the cloud finance in South Africa survey with AWCape and Sage

    4 July 2022

    The Equiano cable has landed

    4 July 2022
    Opinion

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.