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Members of NASA's Mars
2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars
2020 rover. The image was taken on June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly
Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Ken
Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM – 14 June 2019
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Assembly of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover continues to make great progress towards liftoff next summer as the robots science Mast and mobility wheels were installed this past week by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Working in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL engineers attached the remote sensing mast on June 5, 2019.
They snapped a selfie with the rover and the mast moments later – see lead image.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Assembly of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover continues to make great progress towards liftoff next summer as the robots science Mast and mobility wheels were installed this past week by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Working in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL engineers attached the remote sensing mast on June 5, 2019.
They snapped a selfie with the rover and the mast moments later – see lead image.
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Engineers and
technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,
install the remote sensing mast on the Mars 2020 rover. The image was taken on
June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at
JPL. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
|
It took about another
week until June 11 to fully integrate the mast with the rover, ‘a process that
includes installation of science instrument sensors, electrical wiring and
checkout.”
The mast is equipped with multiple cameras and science instruments including the SuperCam, Mastcam-Z and Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer instruments as well as four Navcam engineering cameras or navcams.
The top of the mast reaches a height of just over 7 feet, or 2.2 meters.
Just like sister rover Curiosity - which is still operating on Mars - the mast will fly in a stowed configuration flat on the rover deck during the interplanetary trip to Mars.
The six wheels were installed
on June 13.
And don’t forget that NASA is inviting the public to send their name along for the journey that begins with blastoff of the ‘2020 Rover’ in July 2020.
From now until Sept. 30, you can send your name to Mars by adding it to a chip to be loaded on board for the journey.
The mast is equipped with multiple cameras and science instruments including the SuperCam, Mastcam-Z and Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer instruments as well as four Navcam engineering cameras or navcams.
The top of the mast reaches a height of just over 7 feet, or 2.2 meters.
Just like sister rover Curiosity - which is still operating on Mars - the mast will fly in a stowed configuration flat on the rover deck during the interplanetary trip to Mars.
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Mars
2020 rover with 6 wheels attached. Credit: NASA JPL webcam
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And don’t forget that NASA is inviting the public to send their name along for the journey that begins with blastoff of the ‘2020 Rover’ in July 2020.
From now until Sept. 30, you can send your name to Mars by adding it to a chip to be loaded on board for the journey.
You can sign up and obtain a souvenir boarding
pass to Mars here:
Over 7.0 million people have already signed
up to place their names on the chips as of today, June 12.
I was fortunate to visit with Curiosity in the KSC clean room back in 2011, 3 weeks before liftoff. A memory I’ll always cherish !
The 1 ton rover (2,300 pounds, 1,000 kilograms) is nearly a copy of the NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Lab rover still operating on Mars - but with a completely new suite of science instruments and cameras as well as the 1st Mars Helicopter.
The Mars 2020 rover will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The launch window opens in July 2020
It is being targeted to touch down at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
Mars 2020 will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
I was fortunate to visit with Curiosity in the KSC clean room back in 2011, 3 weeks before liftoff. A memory I’ll always cherish !
The 1 ton rover (2,300 pounds, 1,000 kilograms) is nearly a copy of the NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Lab rover still operating on Mars - but with a completely new suite of science instruments and cameras as well as the 1st Mars Helicopter.
The Mars 2020 rover will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The launch window opens in July 2020
It is being targeted to touch down at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
Mars 2020 will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
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