And although the rover appears to have observed the shadow of a potato crossing the red Martian surface, it is actually Phobos, one of the two small moons on Mars.
Perseverance observed the 40-second eclipse on April 2. If this sounds much shorter than the typical solar eclipse we can see from Earth when our moon passes in front of the sun, it’s because Phobos is about 157 times smaller than our moon.
The rover continues the 18-year history of robots observing eclipses on Mars, which began with NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers in 2004 and was followed by Curiosity, which shot the first video of a Martian eclipse in 2019.
Perseverance provided the best video of this eclipse, still taking advantage of the maximization of its mast-mounted camera system.
“I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be so amazing,” said Rachel Houseon, Mastcam-Z operator at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. “There is a feeling of a birthday or a holiday when they arrive. You know what’s coming, but there’s still an element of surprise when you see the final product. “
The video was also shot in color using a sunscreen to reduce light intensity, allowing scientists to get a better idea of Phobos.
“You can see details in the shape of Phobos’ shadow, such as ridges and bumps in the lunar landscape,” said Mark Lehmann, a planetary astronomer at the Boulder Space Institute in Colorado. “You can also see sunspots. And it’s great that you can see this eclipse just like the rover saw it from Mars.”
The tidal forces of Phobos’ gravity pull the crust and mantle of the red planet, slightly deforming the Martian rock. In turn, this gravitational force changes the orbit of Phobos.
Observations of the Phobos eclipse help scientists track how the Moon’s orbit changes over time and better predict when Phobos’ time will end.
Phobos is essentially doomed and is experiencing a slow spiral of death with each orbit because it is constantly approaching the Martian surface. In tens of millions of years, it will either crash into Mars or fall apart into pieces that will rain on Mars.
As scientists use eclipse observations to learn more about Phobos, the Perseverance rover has reached its next intriguing goal: an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater. The robotic explorer will collect samples of fan-shaped rocks and sediments at the edge of the crater, created where a river flows into the crater lake billions of years ago.
“The Jezero Crater Delta promises to be a true geological holiday and one of the best places on Mars to look for signs of past microscopic life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, assistant administrator of NASA’s scientific missions. “The answers are there – and Team Perseverance is ready to find them.”
And the Ingenuity helicopter has just completed its 26th flight on the one-year anniversary of its first flight a year ago.
The helicopter will act as an air reconnaissance as Perseverance explores the delta.
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