Tag: Perseverance Mars Rover power

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Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Structure Components Functions Science Instrument of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

MEDA of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover – part 1

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA is short for the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer. You may think of it as a weather station, which essentially is a set of sensors for measuring and collecting mainly the following information:

  1. wind speed
  2.  wind direction
  3. temperature
  4. pressure
  5. humidity
  6. amount of dust particles
  7. size of dust particles
  8. radiation

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA has several components and they are located in multiple locations on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover:

  1. on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s mast’s neck
  2. on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s top deck
  3.  on the front left and right sides of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s body
  4.  on the interior of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s body

Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica will perfectly replicate the MEDA instrument’s appearance structure but there will not be any actual sensors and it is not a real weather station. 

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA’s sensors are air temperature sensors, radiation, and dust sensor, relative humidity sensor, thermal infrared sensor, wind sensors, and instrument control unit sensors. With these sensors, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA will be able to work as a weather station, not only to study the atmospheric condiction of Mars but also to predict Mars’s future weather. This has great meaning because one day, there is a chance humans will set foot on Mars, and they will need to know daily weather reports just like we do on Earth.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA has a mass of 5.5kg or 12 lbs. and the maximum power it will consume is 17W which depends on the scale of the measurements. Our Mars Rover Replica‘s MEDA will be half the size as the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s MEDA, but the weight is not half the weight. We aim to find materials that are strong but lightweight for that. 

If you are interested in our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica, you can check out [1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica Design and Building Diary].

 

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Science Instrument of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

RIMFAX of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX is short for the Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment. It is a frequency modulated continuous wave radar. The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX has a mass of 3 kg, or around 6.6 lbs with a dimension of 7 inches by 4.7 inches by 2.4 inches, or 196cm by 120cm by 66cm. For our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica, the dimension of the RIMFAX will be 3.5 inches by 2.35 inches by 1.2 inches, or 98cm by 60cm by 33cm.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX has two main components: the antenna and the electronic unit (EU). The RIMFAX’s radar antenna is located on the lower back rear of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and facing down the cold ground. With a frequency range from 150 to 1200 MHz, the vertical resolution theoretically can go from 3 inches to 12 inches, or 15 cm to 30 cm, thick. Our Perseverance Mars Rover Replica will perfectly the appearance structure of the antenna but it will not the actual function that the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX’s antenna has. 

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX’s EU is located inside of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover’s left aft tower. The environment of the EU is thermally controlled, unlike the antenna. Since this is the first radar ever sent to Mars by NASA, the underground composition is unknown. Therefore, the RIMFAX is designed to be programable after each sounding is taken. EU has three components: the DC/DC converter board, data control board, and RF(radio frequency) analog board. Because the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX’s EU is inside of the body structure, and you cannot really see it from the outside, we might not replicate it for our Perseverance Mars Rover Replica, or we might replicate it after everything else is completed.  

Unlike the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s MOXIE, which consumes around 30% of the Perseverance Mars Rover’s power each time it runs, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX only consumes around 5W for a normal traverse. It has two states: idle and sounding. When in the idle state, RIMFAX only communicates and receives signals. When RIMFAX is set to the sounding state, the power supply is then switched on and RIMFAX will start working. Our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘ RIMFAX does not have the actual function like the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX, but we may design it so that it will have other functions such as being able to light up in the dark. Therefore, Perseverance Mars Rover Replica‘ RIMFAX might also consume power.  

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX will image the shallow surface under the Martian surface while the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is traveling with an interval of 4 inches, or 10 cm to provide information about the subsurface composition of the site. By penetrating the ground surface, the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover‘s RIMFAX is able to detect ice, water, or salty water (brines) with a depth of over 30 feet, or 10 meters, but with a subsurface condition that is very good for radar wave propagation, the soundings can go deeper than 30 feet. Studying what’s beneath the Martian surface can help discover Mars’ past life (if there was any), past waters, past rock formation, and many other materials underneath the surface of the red planet.

If you are interested in our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica, you may check out our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica Design and Building Diary.

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Science Instrument of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

MOXIE of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Part 1

Mars’ atmosphere has around 96% carbon dioxide and there is only 0.13% oxygen. Therefore, it is not suitable for humans to breathe. To find out if it is possible for human exploration on Mars, one of the most important things is to figure out how to make oxygen, not only for humans to breathe but also for helping with burning rocket fuel. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE (short for the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) is the instrument that will make oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere. It is like an artificial plant, breathing in carbon dioxide and breathing out oxygen (also some byproducts such as carbon monoxide).

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE instrument is located on the inside of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s right front belly. It has a mass of 17.1 kg, but due to different gravitational forces between Earth and Mars, MOXIE weighs 37.7 lbs on Earth but 14.14 lbs on Mars. The Perseverance Mars Rover’s MOXIE is expected to operate its first mission within 30 sols after it lands on Mars and passes all the health checkups.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE is inside of the rover’s body, and you cannot see it from the outside, so our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica might not replicate it, or we will replicate it after all the other components are completed. If we do replicate the PMars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE instrument, our Mars Rover replica‘s MOXIE will not actually make oxygen, but the appearance structure will be replicated.

Interestingly, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE has 2 microphones so we can hear it making oxygen on Earth. The reason for the microphones is because MOXIE runs by a motor. By listening to the motor running, engineers will know MOXIE is working. Even though our 1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica might not replicate the MOXIE instrument, we may add a speaker inside of the Mars Rover Replica‘s body and make the motor running sound effects to simulate the MOXIE’s working sound.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE instrument only has a size of a car battery but once it is operating. If we replicate it on our Perseverance Mars Rover replica, it will be half the size of the real Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE. When operating, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s MOXIE will use up to around 30% of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover‘s power, and the heat generated will be so hot that the scientists had to insulate it. Otherwise, the instrument on board or even the whole of Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will get damaged. However, how hot it will get or how much voltage will be used are still to be found out during real operations on Mars.