Reader Response Draft 1

The webpage “Robotic Arm” (NASA, n.d.) introduces Mars' Perseverance’s robotic arm. The robotic arm collects rock samples and stores them for analysis. The Perseverance’s robotic arm consists of scientific cameras, a drill, Gaseous Dust Removal Tool (GDRT), five degrees of freedom rotary actuators and a ground contact sensor. There are three scientific cameras, Wide Angle Telegraphic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON), Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) and Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). As mentioned in the webpage “Watson” (NASA, n.d.), WATSON is a color camera used to take zoomed in pictures of targets of interest that contain signs of microbial life searched by SHERLOC. PIXL functions similarly to SHERLOC. However, it is able to identify chemical elements at a miniscule level. The rover's drill penetrates into the Martian surface to collect and store rock samples according to “Robotic Arm” (NASA, n.d.). The GDRT then uses nitrogen gas to reveal the inner layer of the rock for analysis (Brockie, 2021). The five degrees of freedom rotary actuators allow the robotic arm to move in five different axes. The ground contact sensor sends a signal to the robotic arm to stop its movement to prevent it from touching the ground (Robotic Arm, n.d.). It was mentioned in the “Body” (NASA, n.d.) that the robotic arm of Perseverance rover is the enhancement of Curiosity rover to aid in the search for signs of microbial life, gather and cache rock samples, and arrange for following missions as stated in “Frequently Asked Questions” (NASA, n.d.).

One such feature that was enhanced was the drilling system of the rover, as it includes consists of 43 sample collection tubes based on the journal “Dynamics Associated with the Corer on M2020 Perseverance Rover” (Dodge et al., 2021). Curiosity rover robotic arm is only having a cylinder to collect the pulverised rock samples based on “A look back: The Drilling Campaign of the Curiosity Rover during the Mars Science Laboratory’s Prime Mission” (Abbey et al., 2019). This shows that the enhancement made to Perseverance rover is needed, so that the samples cached can be used in the future missions.

Another feature that was enhanced was the scientific cameras, as it has a higher resolution than Curiosity’s robotic arm camera, Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). According to “Perseverance’s Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Investigation” (Barthia, 2021), WATSON camera has a higher resolution of 13.1 to more than 100 micrometre per pixel, SHERLOC has a resolution of 10.1 micrometre per pixel. While MAHLI only has a resolution of approximately 13 micrometre per pixel. Hence, these enhancements to Perseverance’s robotic arm cameras would assist in better search and analysis for signs of microbial life.

According to the article “News at a glance: Olympic COVID-19 precautions, a Mars dry hole, and a new radio telescope” (Cho et al., 2021), there was a failure in caching rock samples as the rock that was collected did not appear in the tube via Perseverance rover drill system. NASA explained that there was an unforeseen trait of the rock sample. This shows that even with the enhancement in the drilling system, Perseverance rover would only be able to collect specific types of rock samples. Thus, this would cause a restriction to the sample size, which may affect the analysis result of microbial life.

In conclusion, storing rock samples for future mission even with the limitation of the sample size and better search and analysis for signs of microbial life would assist in the search for signs of microbial life, gather and cache rock samples, and arrange for following missions.

Reference:
Nasa. Robotic Arm (n.d.).

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/arm/

Nasa. Watson (n.d.). https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/cameras/#WATSON

Brockie, I. (2021) Why and How Perseverance Abrades Rocks. NASA.
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/327/why-and-how-perseverance-abrades-rocks/

Nasa. Body (n.d.). https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/body/

Nasa. Body (n.d.). https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/faq/

Nasa. Mars Curiosity Rover (n.d.) https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/spacecraft/rover/arm/#chimra
Abbeya, W., Andersona, R., Beeglea, L., et al. (2019). A look back: The Drilling Campaign of the Curiosity Rover during the Mars Science Laboratory’s Prime Mission https://www.sciencedirect.com.singaporetech.remotexs.co/science/article/pii/S001910351830410X

Dodge, R., Parsons, D., Abid, M., Chrystal, K., Kartolov, B. (2021). Dynamics Associated with the Corer on M2020 Perseverance Rover. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org.singaporetech.remotexs.co/abstract/document/9438361

Bhartia, R., Beegle, L.W., DeFlores, L. et al. (2021). Perseverance’s Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Investigation. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-021-00812-z

Cho, A., Matacic, C., Clery, D., et al. (2021). News at a glance: Olympic COVID-19 precautions, a Mars dry hole, and a new radio telescope. https://www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-olympic-covid-19-precautions-mars-dry-hole-and-new-radio-telescope

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