14 DAY TRIAL // has finally settled on the seven instruments its Mars 2020 rover will be carrying when embarking on its journey to the Red Planet about six years from now.
These instruments, which were chosen from a total of 58 proposed ones, are expected to help the Mars 2020 rover explore its target planet and gain a better understanding of its makeup.
Thus, the instruments will work together to collect information concerning Mars' landscapes, mineralogy, and atmosphere, researchers with NASA explain.
As detailed by Space, NASA has not yet found a suitable name for the rover it plans to launch to Mars in 2020. Still, the Administration has a pretty good idea of what the rover will look like and how it will behave.
The infographic below, pieced together by artist Karl Tate, explains both how this latest Mars rover is expected to make it on the Red Planet, and what bits and pieces of equipment its anatomy is to include.
Interestingly enough, word has it that, all things considered, this rover's instruments will be somewhat more gifted at exploring Mars than the ones Curiosity is now busy dragging across the surface of the Red Planet.
“The Mars 2020 rover, with these new advanced scientific instruments, including those from our international partners, holds the promise to unlock more mysteries of Mars’ past as revealed in the geological record.”
“This mission will further our search for life in the universe and also offer opportunities to advance new capabilities in exploration technology,” says John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration.