NASA is sending another dog to Mars for exploration and rescue, and he's just in training right now – teach me about science

from The nineties We're not sending a puppy into space; to make, The first dog sent was Laika, and after that more dogs were sent into space as part of missions for what was then called the Soviet Union. now, a pot It was submitted to spiritAnother little dog will travel to Mars: Here the little dog will be a robot. It is amazing projectnamed Lassie (Science of independent legged surfaces in analog environments)was funded by a pot It enjoys cooperation with experts from various universities NASA Johnson Space Center.

Until now, planetary exploration missions have relied on pre-planned plans.The decision. This has limited capacity Rovers To adapt to unexpected changes in terrain or to identify observations that are of scientific value in some way Self-confident. As is Mars exploration rover Spirit The InSight lander faced challenges in understanding the spacecraft's properties The richA layer of dust and loose rocks covering its surface Mars.

This is the place spirit And the project Lassie They will own Important missions. Researchers are exploring how legged robots could measure properties of surface regolith and use those measurements to autonomously update Scientific operations plans. In other words, Spirit will be able to adapt to changes in terrain and make independent decisions about where to go and what to investigate. ¡It's as if the spirit was truly an independent and conscious puppy!

Exercises

To test capabilities spirittwo similar field sites were selected: White Sands Dune Field at New Mexico and Mount Hood in Oregon. White Sands a area to Sand dunes Origin of gypsum offering a variety of sedimentary textures, including loose sand, crusts made of salt, calcium carbonate, and Microbes. These crusts are similar to those They have been observed on Mars and could alter erosion and sediment transportWhich affects the movement of mobile vehicles.

On the other hand, the Mount Hood is a stratovolcano that provides a frigid volcanic environment with glaciers covered in debrisLava flows and pyroclastic deposits. Although it Mount Hood It has a different composition than Mars, and provides a powerful environment to test how this happens Ice affects Properties of regolith. he ice It can have a strong impact on Properties Geotechnical From the rich, and Understands How can the amount to ice in Earth is Important For future missions exploration.

At these field sites Analogues, spirit Tests will be conducted to measure differences in ground resistance using leg motors. This includes compression and shear tests to measure the mechanical response of the regolith. In addition, Spirit will be equipped with additional instruments, such as a decay spectrometer Laser Induced Induction (LIBS), Fluorescence spectrometer X-ray (XRF), Microscopic imaging system and soil moisture resistivity probe Obtains More information about physical properties and Structural characteristics of rigolite.