But how did this debris from the Perseverance ship get stuck there, on Mars?


The Perseverance rover has spotted a strange object on Mars. It appears to be debris from his spaceship. Could the wind have moved it there?

On Mars, the Perseverance rover has again found debris from its spacecraft. In one of the many images taken by the robot, on June 13, 2022, an unusual object can be seen on the planet, as if stuck in a sharp rock. It appears to be a piece of thermal insulation, which helped the rover land smoothly in February 2021.

But how did this piece, which measures 10 by 18 centimeters, get there? It is possible that it was the wind that moved it thus, Explain on Twitter Thomas Appéré, doctor of planetology. The scientist was able to establish the distance between Perseverance and the object when the image was taken: it is estimated at 10.5 meters.

How could this piece of insulation have been transported here? // Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU (cropped photo)

Can the Martian wind lift this debris?

According to his calculations, the force exerted by the wind on this debris is quite weak: Thomas Appéré tells Numerama that ” the maximum speed measured on site is 15 m/s or 54 km/h. Knowing that on Mars, locally, the speed can rise to around 30 m/s, or 108 km/h, but not necessarily in the Jezero crater [ndlr : où se trouve Perseverance]. It should also be noted that the atmosphere of Mars is very sparse. Winds like these exert fairly low pressure.

The scientist adds that it remains to be calculated ” the thickness of a thermal insulation sheet, which could be lifted by such a wind. For this, the force exerted by the wind would have to be greater than the weight of the sheet. ” According to his estimates, a Martian wind blowing at 15 m/s would be able to lift ” approximately 77 layers of Mylar (the polyester that usually makes up these insulating sheets). ” It therefore seems realistic that the Martian wind could lift this debris if it is indeed a piece of thermal insulation », concludes the scientist.

An additional element suggests, moreover, that the wind would be capable of moving this debris on Mars. When comparing two images taken an hour apart by the robot, the object appears to have changed shape slightly.

This object is probably not the last residue that the rover should encounter on Mars. As Perseverance and its companion Ingenuity survey the planet’s surface, they find remnants of the hull and parachute that transported them there over a year ago.

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