The Perseverance rover has been on Mars since February 2021. Its primary mission was to collect soil samples from the surface and search for evidence of ancient microbial activity in Jezero Crater (an ancient river delta). He isn’t just finding rocks on his Martian journey. Her most recent find is an aluminum foil piece!
While some may have imagined that it was the wrapper for a sandwich on Mars, NASA has clarified that the object is actually a piece blanket thermal. This aluminum material is used frequently in space missions as it controls extreme temperatures during entry, descent, and landing of vehicles. It is possible that the one discovered on Mars was found during the descent stage. This would have allowed the spacecraft to reach Mars.
The NASA team is curious about how the piece came to be so far from the landing site of the rover (two kilometers away). In a tweet, they question “Did this fragment land here after the descent? or was it blown by the wind?”
Larger image of the aluminum piece found in the Mars rocks. /NASA
They have not shared their plans to retrieve it in order to remove the ’trace’ on Mars. However, they took the opportunity to show the team responsible for ‘dressing up’ the spacecraft. They are spaceship dressmakers. They use sewing machines and other tools for joining these unique materials together. They also add two photographs to the text. One shows three tailors, the other two show samples of blanket materials, one of which is identical to that on the red planet.
Right: This is a part of the team responsible for the lining of spacecraft. Left: Spaceships covered with different types of blankets. /NASA
This finding brings back the discussion on the effects of humans on the environment and space debris. Orbital debris refers to any man-made object orbiting the Earth that no longer serves a useful purpose, such as satellites, rockets, or lost tools (screws and cables, cameras ).
NASA estimates that there are about 23,000 pieces larger than a baseball in debris orbiting the Earth. There are also approximately 100 million pieces smaller than a centimeter of debris, about half a million pieces the size of a marble, and about 100 million pieces about a millimeter. Many other smaller, but equally dangerous, debris is less than a millimeter. The US agency explains that both debris and spacecraft travel at high speeds. “Even a small amount of orbital debris could cause serious problems if it collides with a spacecraft.”
The danger to all space vehicles is increasing due to the increased amount of debris, including the International Space Station (ISS), and other ships carrying humans. The ISS has made more than 20 maneuvers to avoid debris since 1999. Last Thursday, June 16, was the last. He had to avoid the remnants of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 1408, which were bombed by Putin’s military at the end last year.
