>> WE ARE STARTING TO FLY RIGHT
MANEUVER IN PREPARATION FOR
PARACHUTE DEPLOY.
THE PARACHUTE HAS DEPLOYED.
WE ARE SEEING SEE ACCELERATION.
MANEUVER HAS STARTED.
20 METERS OFF THE SURFACE.
>> SILL NATURALS FROM MRO.
>> TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED.
PERSEVERANCE HAS LANDED SAFELY
ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
LOOKS LIKE THE FIRST IMAGE.
>> AMAZING THING.
THIS IS WHAT NASA DOES.
THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO AS A
COUNTRY.
>> HELLO, AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER
EPISODE OF NASA SCIENCE LIVE.
I'M YOUR HOST AND WE ARE SO
EXCITED YOU COULD JOIN US TODAY.
A NEW CHAPTER OF MARS
EXPLORATION HAS BEGUN.
YESTERDAY NASA PERSEVERANCE
LANDED ON MARS.
OVER THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS,
PERSEVERANCE HAS BEEN EN ROUTE
TO THE RED PLANET AND NOW IT'S
PREPARING TO EXPLORE JEZERO
CRATER, A 28-MILE CRATER, ONCE
HOME TO A RIVER DELTA, IN SEARCH
OF MICROBIAL LIFE TO HELP
DETERMINE IF THERE WAS EVER LIFE
ON MARS.
IF YOU THINK THAT'S COOL, JUST
WAIT.
THERE'S MORE.
WE HAVE SEEN INCREDIBLE IMAGES
FROM PERSEVERANCE.
IN THIS PHOTO YOU SEE HERE,
THAT'S THE VIEW LOOKING DOWN
FROM THE SKY CRANE LOWERING THE
ROVER TO THE SURFACE OF MARS.
IN THIS PHOTO YOU CAN SEE THE
FRONT RIGHT WHEEL ON THE MARS
SURFACE.
THEY ARE FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT.
IN THE NEXT PICTURE THERE IS AN
IMAGE CAPTURED FROM ORBIT AROUND
MARS FROM THE PERSEVERANCE'S
PARACHUTE AS IT'S DEPLOYED AND
DESCENDS ON TO THE RED PLANET.
WHEN I WAS IN 5th GRADE, WHAT
INSPIRED ME WAS IF WE WERE
ALONE.
WE ARE ADVENTURING TO ANSWER
THESE QUESTIONS.
I'M JOINED BY A LANDING LEAD AND
KELSIE MOORE.
CONGRATS ON AN EXCITING AND
SUCCESSFUL LANDING YESTERDAY.
>> THANK YOU.
>> SO THIS QUESTION IS FOR BOTH
OF YOU, LET'S START WITH KELSIE.
HOW DOES IT FEEL LAND ROVER ON A
PLANET?
>> THIS IS INCREDIBLE.
I HAVE WATCHED PAST ROVERS AND
EXPERIENCES FROM THE SIDELINES.
THIS IS MY FIRST TIME BEING A
PART OF THE MISSION AND THE
TEAM.
IT'S A NEW LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT.
I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WE ARE AT
THIS MOMENT NOW.
>> AWESOME.
GREGORIO, YOU ARE A VETERAN, YOU
HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE.
>> I HAVE DONE THIS ONCE.
WE NEVER HAD IMAGES LIKE THE ONE
YOU SAW.
HOW COOL IS THAT.
I'M WATCHING ANIMATIONS AND
SEEING THAT PICTURE IS SO
SURREAL.
IT SHOWS THE HARD WORK WE PUT
INTO THIS MISSION TO BE A
SUCCESS IF WE WORK TOGETHER.
>> IF WE JUST PERSEVERE?
CAN YOU TELL US, WHAT IS THE
ROVER DOING RIGHT NOW.
>> WHEN YOU GO ON A ROAD TRIP
AND CRAMPED UP IN A CAR, THE
ROVER HAS BEEN CRAMPED UP FOR
SEVEN MONTHS.
WE ARE DOING LITTLE CHECKOUTS OF
THE MECHANISMS, TURNING ON
INSTRUMENTS, MAKING SURE THEY
ARE GOOD TO GO.
WE ARE DOING TO DO A FLIGHT
SOFTWARE TRANSMISSION.
THERE IS A SOFTWARE WE USE FOR
THE FLIGHT.
NOW ON THE SURFACE, WE DOWNLOAD
A NEW SET OF CAPABILITIES.
>> THEY SAID IT WILL TAKE ABOUT
FOUR DAYS.
>> SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON MARS,
YOU DON'T WANT TO RUSH THROUGH
IT.
YOU DO IT LITTLE BY LITTLE, NOT
ALL AT ONCE.
>> KELSIE, FROM YOUR
PERSPECTIVE, AS A SCIENTIST,
PLEASE TELL US WHAT'S NEXT.
>> DEFINITELY.
SO ONCE THE ROVER IS KIND OF
FULLY AWAKE, WE GET TO DIVE INTO
THE SCIENCE.
I AM A FIELD GEOSCIENTIST, ON
EARTH WHEN I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT
THE ANCIENT EARTH PATH, I
ANALYZE BIG ROCK OUTCROPS AND I
COLLECT SAMPLES AND BRING THEM
BACK INTO THE LAB SO I CAN
ANALYZE THEM IN MORE DETAIL.
PERSEVERANCE IS OUR ROBOTIC
FIELD GEOLOGIST ON THE SURFACE
OF MARS.
PERSEVERANCE WILL BE ROVING
AROUND AN ANALYZING THE ROCKS,
GETTING CONTEXT FOR US AND VERY
EXCITINGLY, THE ROVER WILL BE
PICKING UP SAMPLES, COLLECTING
SAMPLES THAT WILL BE RETURNED
HOPEFULLY ON THE MARS SAMPLE
RETURN MISSION SO WE CAN ANALYZE
THOSE MARTIAN SAMPLES BACK ON
EARTH.
>> THAT IS INCREDIBLE.
WE KNOW MANY OF YOU AT HOME HAVE
SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT NASA
PERSEVERANCE LANDING ON MARS AND
THE EXCITING THINGS IT WILL DO
ON THE RED PLANET.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION AND ASK
YOUR QUESTIONS BY WRITING IN THE
COMMENT BOX WHEREVER YOU ARE
WATCHING THIS OR USE THE
#COUNTDOWNTOMARS ON SOCIAL
MEDIA.
LET'S START OFF WITH A QUESTION
MILLIONS ARE ASKING, IS MARS
HABITABLE.
♪
IS MARS HABITABLE?
MAYBE.
THE QUESTION IS, IS IT HABITABLE
AND FOR WHOM?
MARS IS HUNDREDS OF DEGREES
COLDER THAN EARTH, IT HAS A
HUNDRED TIMES LESS ATMOSPHERE
AND THAT ATMOSPHERE HAS HARDLY
ANY OXYGEN.
BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER FORMS OF
LIFE THAT COULD HAVE EVOLVED
THAT AREN'T VERY MUCH LIKE US,
BUT LIKE EARLY FORMS OF LIFE ON
EARTH.
MARS HAS EVIDENCE OF BEING
WARMER AND HAVING WATER FOR
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT IN MARS' PAST
THERE IS A TIME THAT LIFE COULD
HAVE EVOLVED.
WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ANSWER
THAT QUESTION DEFINITIVELY.
AS OF YET THE ANSWER IS
DEFINITELY MAYBE.
>> IT'S SO EXCITING THAT
PERSEVERANCE IS NOW ON THE
SURFACE OF MARS TO HELP US
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS AND TO
SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF ANCIENT LIFE
ITSELF.
THE INTERNET IS BUZZING WITH
EXCITEMENT.
SO LET'S GET QUESTIONS FROM THE
PUBLIC.
FOR EVERYONE THAT'S WATCHING,
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE
CONVERSATION.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION USING
#COUNTDOWN TO MARS.
OUR FIRST QUESTION IS FROM ALEX
ON TWITTER.
DOES PERSEVERANCE HAVE ANY WAY
TO MOVE ROCKS AND SAND TO SEE
WHAT'S BENEATH?
>> ONCE THE ROVER STARTS DRIVING
AROUND.
WE CAN DO TWO TYPES OF SCIENCE,
WE CAN ANALYZE THE ROCKS USING A
SUPER CAM AND COLLECT FROM DATA
THAT'S A COUPLE OF METERS AWAY
FROM THE ROVER.
AND WE CAN ANALYZE THE ROCKS
THAT'S UP CLOSE.
WHAT WE'LL DO IS GET UP NEXT TO
THE ROCKS, PLACE THOSE
INSTRUMENTS SO THEY ARE CLOSE TO
THE SURFACE AND ANALYZE THE ROCK
BEST LOW AND WE CAN DO SOME
ABRADING TO GET AT THE SURFACE
BELOW.
>> WHAT ABOUT THAT LASER?
>> YES.
>> I'M ASKING KELSIE, WHAT ABOUT
THE LASER.
>> WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE
DIFFERENT LASERS AND X-RAYS TO
ANALYZE THE CHEMISTRY,
MINERALOGY, THE ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS INSIDE OF THE ROCK.
EXCITED TO SEE WHAT KIND OF DATA
WE GET.
>> YOU HAVE THE GAS DUST REMOVAL
TUBE WHICH IS ABLE TO PUFF A GAS
OF NITROGEN ON THE SURFACE AND
BLOW THINGS AWAY.
THAT'S GREAT.
WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FROM
PANDA WANNA-BE ON TWITTER.
WHAT PRECAUTIONS DID YOU TAKE TO
MAKE SURE NO EARTH MICROBES
HITCHED A RIDE AND WILL YOU STOP
BY TO SAY HI TO CURIOSITY.
THIS IS A GREAT KELSIE QUESTION.
>> I KNOW.
THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
ONE OF THE BIG FEARS AT THE
BEGINNING WHEN YOU ARE THINKING
ABOUT BRINGING SAMPLES BACK, YOU
DON'T WANT TO GET A FALSE
POSITIVE.
WE DON'T WANT TO BRING SOMETHING
BACK BUT IT HAD SOMETHING FROM
EARTH.
THE SAMPLE TUBES HAVE GONE
THROUGH EXTENSIVE CLEANING
PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE
PRISTINELY CLEAN.
NO TRACES OF EARTH MICROBIAL
MATTER ON THEM.
WE HAVE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
THEY CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE
SAMPLE HOLDERS ARE AS CLEAN AS
THEY POSSIBLY CAN BE.
>> I HAD A LITTLE 3D PRINTED
TUBE HERE.
WE BAKED THEM OUT AT 150°
CELSIUS FOR OVER 20 HOURS.
THEY ARE RIDICULOUSLY CLEAN.
THE TEAM MADE SURE THAT WAS NOT
AN ISSUE, THE FALSE POSITIVE.
WE ARE EXCITED FOR THE SCIENCE
COMING FROM THESE PRISTINE
TUBES.
>> THE NEXT QUESTION WE HAVE IS
FROM MIKE ON TWITTER.
TO WHAT DEPTHS DO YOU DRILL AND
HOW LONG IS THE CORE SAMPLE YOU
COLLECT TO ANALYZE?
>> OUR SAMPLES THAT WE'LL BE
GETTING BACK WILL BE ABOUT THE
SIZE OF A PIECE OF CHALK.
HERE'S A VIDEO FOR US.
VERY SMALL PIECES OF DRILL CORE,
AND WE ARE WORKING ON WAYS TO
MAKE SURE WE GET THE CONTEXT
AROUND THOSE DRILL CORES RIGHT
BEFORE WE COLLECT THEM, SO WE
KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE BEFORE
THEY ARE TAKEN AND PLACED INTO
THE TUBES AND BROUGHT BACK.
>> THAT'S AWESOME.
IN ORDERER TO GET TO THIS
LOCATION, JUST TO BRING GREGORIO
IN, WE NEEDED THE EDL GURUS
HERE.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT?
>> TRN IS THE TERRAIN NAVIGATION
SYSTEM.
IT ENABLED SCIENCE TO GO TO
JEZERO CRATER.
THERE IS A HAZARD MAP THAT WE
HAVE WHERE IT SHOWS WHERE WE
LANDED.
YOU PROBABLY SAW IT IN
YESTERDAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF HAZARDS IN
JEZERO CRATER.
WE WERE ABLE TO SNEAK IN TO THAT
GREEN DOT WHICH IS A SAFE
PARKING LOT AREA.
DURING THE DESCENT STAGE WE HAVE
A CAMERA ON BOARD, IT'S TAKING
IMAGES AND COORDINATING THAT
WITH A MAP ON BOARD AND
UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE RELATIVE
TO THE GROUND.
WHEN WE KNOW THAT KNOWLEDGE, WE
KNOW WHERE WE CAN GO.
WHEN WE ARE ON THIS JET PACK,
FLY TO THE OPTIMAL SAFE SPOTS ON
THE MAP.
>> THAT'S AMAZING.
SO SPEAKING OF THESE AMAZING
SAMPLES, THE NEXT QUESTION A LOT
OF PEOPLE ARE ASKING, HOW WILL
THE SAMPLES GET BACK TO EARTH.
WHO WANTS TO TAKE THAT QUESTION?
>> I WILL GIVE IT A SHOT.
PERSEVERANCE IS THE FIRST LEG OF
WHAT'S CALLED THE MARS SAMPLE
RETURN CAMPAIGN.
IT'S A JOINT EFFORT AMONGST
THREE MISSIONS.
PERSEVERANCE IS THE FIRST.
PERSEVERANCE IS GOING TO START
COLLECTING SAMPLES ALONG THE WAY
OVER ITS MISSION.
AND NOW WE ARE WORKING ON A NEW
MISSION CALLED SAMPLE RETRIEVAL
LANDER.
IT WILL SEND A MISSION TO MARS,
PUT SAMPLES ON THE ROCKET, THEN
SET ANOTHER ORBITER TO PICK UP
THE SAMPLES, FLY IT BACK TO
EARTH FOR THE SCIENTISTS HERE TO
BE ABLE TO ANALYZE THEM.
>> THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE FEAT.
IT'S GOING TO INVOLVE ESA AS
WELL.
KELSIE, DO YOU WANT INPUT ABOUT
GETTING SAMPLES BACK TO EARTH?
I MEAN, AS A SCIENTIST.
>> WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT
COMPONENT OF THE MISSION.
THE ROVER HAS SOME REALLY GREAT
INSTRUMENTS THAT CAN ANALYZE THE
ROCKS ON THE SURFACE OF MARS AS
IT DRAGS ALONG.
BUT THERE IS A LIMIT TO OUR
CAPABILITY, THE KINDS OF DATA WE
CAN COLLECT ON THE SURFACE.
WE HAVE INCREDIBLE INSTRUMENTS
IN OUR LABS THAT ARE ENORMOUS
INSTRUMENTS, WE DON'T HAVE THE
TECHNOLOGY TO SEND THOSE TO
MARS.
GETTING THE SAMPLES BACK WILL
ALLOW US TO DIG INTO THE SCIENCE
AND BE BETTER ABLE TO
CHARACTERIZE THE SAMPLES.
AND HOPEFULLY SEARCH FOR SIGNS
OF PAST LIFE.
>> ALL RIGHT.
OUR NEXT QUESTION IS FROM MARINA
ON Facebook.
THIS IS FOR GREGORIO.
WHERE IS THE JET PACK AND
PARACHUTE NOW?
>> THE JET PACK OR DISSENT
STAGE, IT FLIES AWAY FROM THE
ROVER AND CRASH LANDS AWAY FROM
US.
SOMEWHERE OVER 400 METERS AWAY.
THE PARACHUTE DOES THE SAME
THING.
IT'S CONTROLLING THE BACK SHELL
AND IT'S FLOATING AWAY.
WE ARE GOING TO TRY TO DO WHAT
WE DID ON CURIOSITY WHERE WE HAD
IMAGES FROM SOME OF OUR ORBITER
ASSETS.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET PICTURES
SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE TO SEE
WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED ON MARS.
>> FANTASTIC.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM
YVONNE.
DOES PERSEVERANCE HAVE A WAY TO
MEASURE THE DENSITY OR MASS OF
ROCKS?
THE POROUS LOOKING ROCKS MAKE ME
WANT TO KNOW IF THEY ARE LIGHT
LIKE PUMICE.
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
THE ROCKS ARE AND WHAT THEY
MEAN.
WE CAN DO A FEW THINGS TO
CHARACTERIZE THE MINERALOGY, IF
IT'S A BASALT THAT HAS BASALTIC
TYPE MINERALS OR HAS DIFFERENT
CLAYS.
SO WE WILL BE INTEGRATING DATA
SETS THAT THE ROVER IS
COLLECTING AND TRY TO ANSWER
THAT QUESTION OF HOW DENSE IS
IT, WHAT KIND OF MINERALS ARE
THERE, SO WE CAN GET A GOOD
APPROXIMATION OF WHAT THE
MATERIALS ARE THAT WE ARE
LOOKING AT.
>> THERE IS ALSO ONE OF THE MANY
ASSESSMENT STATIONS IN THE
ADOPTED CACHE, A VOLUME
ASSESSMENT STATION SO WE CAN
MEASURE AND GET A ROUGH IDEA OF
HOW MUCH SAMPLE WE COLLECTED.
A LOT OF GREAT THINGS TO LOOK
FORWARD TO.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM TIM.
TIM ASKS WHAT PROCEDURES WILL
YOU TAKE IF WE FIND SIGNS OF
LIFE ON MARS.
KELSIE, THIS IS FOR YOU.
>> GREAT.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU COULD GO
WITH THIS.
I WILL TAKE THE SIGNS OF LIFE
APPROACH.
WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED IS SEEING
IF LIFE EVER DID EXIST ON MARS
IN ITS ANCIENT PAST.
IF WE FIND EVIDENCE THERE WAS
LIFE A FEW BILLION YEARS AGO, I
THINK IT'S GOING TO BE EXCITING
TO ANALYZE THAT AND REFRAIN HOW
WE THINK ABOUT WHAT TYPES OF
ENVIRONMENTS ARE HABITABLE, HOW
LIFE EMERGED IN THE PAST ON
DIFFERENT PLANETS.
SO WE'LL OPEN UP A LOT OF
SCIENCE QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN
THEN ASK.
I'M EXCITED FOR THE NEXT COUPLE
OF DECADES AND WHAT THAT MEANS
FOR SCIENTISTS AS WE TRY TO
ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
>> AND, GREGORIO, HOW WOULD YOU
REACT IF YOU HEARD THEY FOUND
SIGNS OF ANCIENT LIFE ON MARS?
>> I WOULD BE REALLY RELIEVED.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES
GROWING UP IS CONTACT.
WANTING TO BE LIFE OUT THERE.
AND IN THE MOVIE, THE MAIN
CHARACTER WAS ASKED DO YOU
BELIEVE IN LIFE OUTSIDE OF EARTH
AND HER RESPONSE WAS IF THERE
WASN'T, THAT WOULD BE AN AWFUL
WASTE OF SPACE.
I'M ALWAYS HOPEFUL TO FIND ANY
SIGNS OF LIFE.
>> ALSO MY FAVORITE MOVIE.
AWESOME.
OUR NEXT QUESTION IS FROM RYAN
ON Facebook.
WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US TO
FIND OUT IF THERE WAS LIFE ON
MARS WITHOUT THE RETURN OF
SAMPLES?
COULD WE VERIFY LIFE ON MARS
WITHOUT RETURN OF SAMPLES?
>> THAT'S A QUESTION I ASK
MYSELF EVERY DAY.
YEAH, SO THERE ARE KIND OF A
RANGE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF
BIOSIGNATURES.
THOSE ARE EVIDENCE OF PAST LIFE
THAT CAN BE ACTUAL FOSSILS,
LITTLE INDIVIDUAL FOSSILS OF
BACTERIAL CELLS, WE FIND THOSE
IN ANCIENT EARTH ROCKS.
IT CAN BE STROMATOLITES.
WHEN YOU SEE A MAT ON A ROCK IN
A POND, THEY CAN BE PRESERVED.
ORGANIC CARBON BASED COMPOUNDS.
THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CHEMICAL
COMPOSITIONS.
DIFFERENT TEXTURES ASSOCIATED
WITH THEM.
SOME OF THEM ARE EASY TO
IDENTIFY AND SOME OF THEM ARE
NOT EASY TO IDENTIFY.
IT WILL TAKE A LOT OF WORK FOR
US TO REALLY ANALYZE THEM USING
THE INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD AND SEE
IF WE CAN CONVINCE OURSELVES
DEPENDING ON HOW OBVIOUS THEY
ARE.
SO MAYBE.
WE'LL SEE.
>> THAT'S VERY FASCINATING.
I LOVE HOW IT LEVERAGES ALL OF
YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD AND
NOW APPLYING IT TO MARS.
THAT'S CRAZY.
THE NEXT QUESTION FROM LUKE ON
TWITTER IS FOR GREGORIO.
HOW LONG BEFORE PERSEVERANCE
GETS DRIVING AROUND?
>> THAT'S REALLY HIGHLY
DEPENDENT HOW THINGS GO.
THERE IS A NOMINAL PLAN TO START
DRIVING.
IT'S ON THE ORDER OF A FEW WEEKS
OR SO.
WE ARE DOING ALL OF OUR
CHECKOUTS.
WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A SOFTWARE
TRANSITION.
THEN WE'LL START LOOKING FOR A
HELICOPTER PAD TO BE ABLE TO USE
OUR HELICOPTER, INGENUITY.
>> THAT'S AWESOME.
THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM
PATRICK.
HE'S A BIG DR. KELSIE MOORE FAN.
WHAT DOES A CAREER IN ASTRO
BIOLOGY FOCUS ON, AND THANKS,
CONGRATULATIONS NASA.
>> THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE
QUESTIONS.
THE ANSWER IS THERE IS NOT ONE
SINGLE PATH.
THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT
PATHS YOU COULD TAKE TO BECOME
AN ASTROBIOLOGIST AND STUDY LIFE
IN THE UNIVERSE.
OUR SCIENCE TEAM, WE HAVE THIS
INCREDIBLE GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO
HAVE BACKGROUNDS IN CHECK
INDUSTRY AND PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY
AND GEOLOGY, AND ALL OF THOSE
PEOPLE COME TOGETHER AND LIVING
IN THIS AMAZING MOMENT IN
SCIENCE HISTORY WHERE SCIENCE IS
SO INTERDISCIPLINARY AND
COLLABORATIVE, THAT WE CAN ALL
WORK TOGETHER TO PUT ALL THOSE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCIENCE
TOGETHER.
I WOULD SAY MY ADVISE IS STUDY
WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT,
WHAT YOU GET EXCITED ABOUT, ANY
TYPE OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING.
AND PUSH IT FORWARD.
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND YOU WILL
BE ABLE TO GET TO A POSITION
WHERE YOU CAN INTEGRATE THAT
INTO ASTRO BIOLOGY.
>> SINCE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC,
GREGORIO, I KNOW YOU HAVE A
STORY ABOUT HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE
YOU ARE TODAY.
>> RIGHT.
SO WHEN I WAS AN UNDERGRAD, MY
PROFESSOR WAS ASKING IF I WANTED
TO HELP OUT AT JPL.
I HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WORK
IN THE OBSERVATORY.
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I WAS
ABLE TO BE INSIDE THAT
TELESCOPE.
THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO ONE
DAY.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR
EVERYONE OUT THERE.
WHETHER YOU WANT TO GET INTO A
SPECIFIC FIELD OR DON'T KNOW
WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, IT'S
IMPORTANT TO FIND SOMETHING YOU
LOVE TO DO.
I'M SURE WE NEVER FEEL LIKE WE
ARE GOING IN TO WORK JUST
BECAUSE WE LOVE IT SO MUCH.
THAT'S WHAT I DID.
WHEN I STARTED COLLEGE, I WAS
DOING ACCOUNTING, PRE-LAW AND I
WASN'T ENJOYING IT.
I MADE THE SWITCH TO PHYSICS AND
IT LED ME TO ASTRO PHYSICS,
WHICH LED ME TO JPL AND NOW PART
OF THE AMAZING TEAM THAT LANDED
PERSEVERANCE ON MARS.
EVERYONE SHOULD FIND SOMETHING
THEY LOVE TO DO.
>> ALL RIGHT.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM
HARMONY ON TWITTER.
HOW MUCH OF A PLANET WILL
PERSEVERANCE BE ABLE TO EXPLORE?
KELSIE, THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION
FOR YOU.
>> DEFINITELY.
THE ROVER IS GOING TO START OUT
LOOKING AT JEZERO CRATER, THE
LANDING SITE OF THE ROVER AND
ANALYZING.
THIS IS A RIVER DELTA.
SO WE ARE EXCITED TO FIND OUT
WHAT KIND OF CHANGES IN THE
ROCKS WE CAN SEE AS WE DRIVE UP
AROUND THE DELTA.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY GO OUTSIDE
OF THE CRATER.
AND POTENTIALLY EXTEND THE
MISSION BEYOND THAT.
SO FAR RIGHT NOW WE ARE GOING TO
STAY WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE
CRATER AND LOOK AT THE DELTA AND
POTENTIALLY EXPAND FARTHER OUT.
>> TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT,
DR. MOORE, ERIC ON Facebook
WANTS TO KNOW HOW LONG IN THE
FIRST SAMPLE RESULTS WILL BE
TABULATED AND ANALYZED?
>> THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT.
IT WILL DEPEND ON WHAT ROCKS WE
SEE.
ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF BEING
ON THIS SCIENCE TEAM AND HAVING
THESE GREAT DISCUSSIONS IS WE
SEE COOL ROCKS TO COLLECT, WE
GET TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND
DECIDE WHICH ONES WE WANT TO
COLLECT.
WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE ROCKS
LOOK LIKE.
>> AMY WANTS TO KNOW IS THERE A
DELAY CONTROLLING THE ROVER ON
MARS?
>> YES.
I LIKE TO BRING UP REMOTE
CONTROL CARS LIKE ON EARTH.
IF YOU EVER PUSH FORWARD, IT
MOVES ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
BUT BECAUSE MARS AND EARTH ARE
SO FAR APART, DEPENDING ON WHERE
THEY ARE ON THEIR ORBIT, IT WILL
TAKE FIVE TO 20 MINUTES FOR A
SIGNAL TO GET RELAYED.
ENTRY, DESCENT AND LANDING WAS
AN AUTOMATED PROCESS.
SO WE HAVE TO COUNTER THAT IN
SURFACE OPERATIONS.
EVERY MORNING WE'LL SET OUT A
SET OF INSTRUCTIONS TO
PERSEVERANCE.
BEFORE IT FINISHES FOR THE DAY,
IT WILL RADIO THE INFORMATION IT
GOT.
AND WE'LL USE THAT TO PLAN THE
NEXT DAY.
>> THAT'S AWESOME.
WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE LAST
QUESTION.
SO LET'S ASK FROM NATHAN ON
YouTube, WHAT DATA WILL WE
BE LISTENING TO FOR SOUNDS ON
MARS AND WHAT DATA WILL WE
GATHER FROM THAT PLANET?
I'M GUESSING HE WANTS TO
UNDERSTAND THE MICROPHONE DATA
AND WHAT WE ARE LISTENING FOR.
LET'S HEAR BOTH OF YOUR
PERSPECTIVES.
LET'S START WITH DR. KELSIE.
>> I WAS GOING TO PASS IT OVER
TO GREGORIO FIRST.
>> SO MAYBE I WILL TALK ABOUT
THE CAMERA, THE MICROPHONE WE
HAVE ON THE EDL SYSTEM AND
KELSIE CAN TALK ABOUT THE ONE ON
THE ROVER.
WE EQUIPPED IT WITH A
MICROPHONE.
IT WOULD BE RECORDING SOUND
DURING ENTRY, DECENT AND
LANDING.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN HEAR THE
ENGINES FIRING OR PARACHUTE
DEPLOYING.
WE DON'T KNOW, SINCE WE HAVE
NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, WHAT
WE'LL HEAR.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE THE
MICROPHONE FOR.
>> SORRY, DR. KELSIE, WE DON'T
HAVE TIME FOR YOUR AMAZING
ANSWER.
THOSE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU TO GREGORIO AND KELSIE
FOR BEING WITH US.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.
>> AND THANK YOU AT HOME FOR
JOINING.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW
PERSEVERANCE, FOLLOW US ON
Facebook AND TWITTER.
BOOK MARK MARS@NASA POUND
GOVERNOR.
YOU CAN FOLLOW EVERY STEP OF THE
JOURNEY.
IF YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR, NOT TOO
LATE TO BRING YOUR STUDENTS
ALONG.
VISIT GO.NASA.GOV/MARS 2020
TOOLKIT.