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.).
The robotic arm of Perseverance rover is the enhancement of Curiosity
rover according to the webpage “Body” (NASA, n.d.). This is to aid in the
search for signs of microbial life, gather and cache rock samples, and arrange
for following missions as stated in the webpage “Frequently Asked Questions”
(NASA, n.d.). In terms of the mission, this means that the enhanced features
of Perseverance's robotic arm, such as the drilling system and scientific
cameras, would be able to accomplished the task that Curiosity's
robotic arm cannot do.
One such feature was the enhanced drilling system of the rover, as
it allows collecting and storing of rock samples with its 43 sample collection
tubes based on the journal “Dynamics Associated with the Corer on M2020
Perseverance Rover” (Dodge et al., 2021). Curiosity's robotic arm only consists
of a cylinder to collect the pulverized 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 Perseverance's robotic arm
is capable of caching samples to be used in the future missions, which
Curiosity's robotic arm is not able to as it only allows storing of one rock
sample type.
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 the article “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 enhanced cameras of Perseverance’s robotic
arm would assist in a better search and analysis for signs of microbial life
than Curiosity's robotic arm camera, as its camera would not provide a higher
contrast image.
However, the drilling system, a feature in Perseverance's robotic
arm failed to cache rock samples 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). This is evident when the collected rock did not appear in the
tube of the drilling system due to its unforeseen trait (Cho et al., 2021).
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 of
microbial life.
In conclusion, the enhanced features of Perseverance’s robotic arm
would accomplish the mission tasks unlike Curiosity’s robotic arm. Although
there would be a limitation to the sample size when caching rock samples, the
drilling system of Perseverance's robotic arm is able to collect and store rock
samples for future mission, and has a high scientific camera resolution for
better search and analysis for signs of microbial life. With the assistance of
these enhanced features, Perseverance’s robotic arm would be the key to the
mission success.
Reference:
Abbey, W., Andersona, R., Beeglea, L., Hurowitz, J., Williford, K., Peters, G.,
& Warner, N. (2019). A look back: The Drilling Campaign of the
Curiosity Rover during the Mars Science Laboratory’s Prime Mission: 2.
Overview of SA/SPaH hardware. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com.singaporetech.remotexs.co/science/article/pii/S001910351830410X
Bhartia, R., Beegle, L.W., DeFlores, L. Abbey, W., Hollis,
J.R., Uckert, K., Zan, J. (2021). Perseverance’s Scanning
Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals
(SHERLOC) Investigation. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-021-00812-z
Brockie, I. (2021) Why and How Perseverance Abrades Rocks.
NASA.
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/327/why-and-how-perseverance-abrades-rocks/
Cho, A., Matacic, C., Clery, D., Grimm, D., Malakoff, D., Normile,
D., Appenzeller, T. (2021). News at a glance: Olympic COVID-19
precautions, a Mars dry hole, and a new radio telescope: Mars rover's first
drilling comes up empty. Science. https://www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-olympic-covid-19-precautions-mars-dry-hole-and-new-radio-telescope
Dodge, R., Parsons, D., Abid, M., Chrystal, K., Kartolov,
B. (2021). Dynamics Associated with the Corer on M2020 Perseverance:
2. SCS Introduction. Rover. IEEE
Xplore. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org.singaporetech.remotexs.co/abstract/document/9438361
Nasa. (n.d.). Body. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/body/
Nasa. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Question: What
is Perseverance doing on Mars? https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/faq/
Nasa. (n.d.). Robotic Arm. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/arm/
Nasa. (n.d.). Watson. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/cameras/#WATSON
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