According to “Aerospace News” report, on June 30 local time, NASA announced that it would postpone the original scheduled for July 22. The launch of the “Perseverance” Mars Rover was conducted to investigate the “abnormal” data of the liquid oxygen sensor line during the rehearsal of the Cosmos 5 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 22.
This is the third launch of the “Perseverance” rover. The “Perseverance” rover was originally scheduled to be launched on July 17th, the first day of the launch window period, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base on the Cosmos 5 carrier rocket, but there was a problem due to the crane used in the handling of the carrier rocket. It was postponed until July 20.
Then, when the engineers installed the rover into the fairing on the top of the Cosmic God 5 rocket, they found problems with the ground support equipment. NASA stated that additional time will be required to resolve the contamination of the ground support piping in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility (PHSF).
Therefore, the new launch window is set no earlier than 9:35 on July 22 local time. At that time, NASA also said that the “Perseverance” rover and the Universe 5 rocket were in good condition.
However, the launch mission has been postponed repeatedly to further shorten the limited launch time, and the time for the “Perseverance” to leave the ground this year has been There is not much left. NASA previously stated that the launch of the “Perseverance” will be in AugustEnd on the 11th.
Because the launch mission is determined based on the relative position of Earth and Mars, there is only one launch window every 26 months. If the “Perseverance” cannot be launched as scheduled this summer, the next launch window will have to wait until September 2022, which will seriously affect NASA’s Mars exploration plan and increase mission risk.
However, in the latest launch delay statement, NASA confirmed that it is currently updating the target launch date with the rocket launcher to extend the launch period to August 15.
According to the plan, the “Perseverance” will land on February 18, 2021 at the Jezero Crater north of the Martian equator. Scientists believe that this area may have been a river delta billions of years ago and is livable.
The mission of Perseverance includes finding signs of life that may have existed on Mars, exploring the climatic and geological characteristics of Mars, collecting samples for future return to Earth, Landing for mankind and exploring Mars, etc.
Also heading to Mars was the first Martian helicopter “wit”, as well as an aluminum plate engraved with earth and snake stick patterns, in order to express the new fight against the global crown Tribute to the medical staff in the epidemic.