A panoramic view of the ancient river delta of Jezero Crater taken by the Mastcam-Z system of the Perseverance rover On April 11.
On April 19, local time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the Perseverance rover arrived near the ancient river delta of Jezero Crater and will carry out a new scientific expedition, which will first drive southwest and then west in about a week, one of the goals is to find the best route to climb the delta.
After collecting eight core samples during the first phase of the Mars exploration and breaking the record of about 5 kilometers traveled in 31 Martian days, nasa's Perseverance rover arrived near the ancient river delta of Jezero Crater on April 13. The Perseverance team named the site "Three Forks" because it was the intersection of the three routes and the rallying point for the rover's second scientific expedition, the Delta Front Movement.
The Delta Front Movement, which began on April 18, will spend about a week traveling first southwest and then west, looking for the best route to climb the delta, which rises about 40 meters above the bottom of the crater.
There are currently two options forward, and no matter which route is chosen to board the delta, the team will conduct a detailed scientific investigation. Collecting samples while exploring the Ancient River Delta was one of the targets of the six-wheeled "geologist"'s second expedition to Mars.
NASA said Perseverance will choose a path to collect core samples on the way up and down, and expects to collect about 8 samples in half an Earth year. After turning back, perseverance may climb the delta again through another road that has not been traveled, and start the "delta top movement", which will also last about half a year.
The Paleo river delta that Perseverance will explore is located on the western edge of Jezero Crater and was formed by rock and sediment billions of years ago. It tops the Perseverance Scientific Team's wish list for expeditions, as fine-grained sediments deposited at the bottom long ago are the best option for finding traces of ancient microbes.
Thomas Zurbuchen, deputy director of NASA's Science Mission Council, said the Jezero Delta is expected to be a veritable geological feast and one of the best places on Mars to look for signs of microscopic life in the past. "The answer is there, and the Perseverance team is ready to look for them."
Parachute image taken by the Mastcam-Z system on April 6 that helped Perseverance land on the surface of Mars.
Last February, the Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars. Perseverance launched its second scientific expedition more than a month earlier than originally planned, NASA said, because the rover could autonomously pass through the sand craters, craters, boulders and sharp rocky areas of Jezero Crater. Perseverance's artificial intelligence-assisted autonavigation capability (AutoNav) evaluated 10,744 navigation camera images while on the move and commanded the rover to stop and turn, avoiding ground hazards 55 times.