Page 59 - Life beyond the Karman

Stardust
The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector spacecraft is a robotic space probe that was sent by NASA to collect dust samples from the coma of comet Wild 2, as well as samples of cosmic dust, and return these to Earth for analysis. Upon returning to Earth, seven collected particles were analysed in the laboratory and were found to have characteristics consistent with the current interstellar dust flow. These interstellar dust particles can be distinguished from debris impacts based on their composition and the path they follow during impact.
The seven candidate interstellar particles were diverse in elemental composition, crystal structure, and size. The presence of crystalline grains and multiple iron-bearing phases, including sulphide, in some particles indicates that individual interstellar particles diverge from any representative model of interstellar dust inferred from astronomical observations and theory.
Landing
Landing is a major task. When the spacecraft returns from space, it can typically splash down off the coast or touch down on dry land. In the past, NASA mainly used dry landings as these were endorsed by the landmark Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS).
The ESAS recommended dry landings for ease and minimal cost of recovery, post-landing safety, and reusability of the spacecraft. While the ESAS planners wanted space crafts like Orion to be capable of making water landings, if necessary, they reasoned that “a vehicle designed for a primary land-
landing mode can more easily be made into a primary water lander than the reverse situation”.
The spacecraft must have airbags, parachutes and retro-rocket solutions to ensure safe landings.
Planetary rovers
Planetary rovers are planetary surface exploration vehicles designed to move across the solid surface on a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft to collect information about the terrain, and take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids.
Mars Perseverance Rover
Mars Perseverance Rover is a famous rover that was launched by NASA on 30 July 2020 and landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Perseverance Rover is the successor to NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which has been a home run flagship mission for the agency. The roaming laboratory has produced an incredible amount of data since it landed on Mars.
This rover was designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
Perseverance has a similar design to its predecessor rover, Curiosity. It carried seven primary payload instruments, 19 cameras, and two microphones.
LIFE BEYOND THE KÁRMÁN LINE - OUTER SPACE
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