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Right now, that rover, Perseverance,
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is 200 million miles away,
on the surface of Mars.
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It's on the floor of Jezero Crater,
and it's taking the images
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and collecting the samples
that might tell us
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whether life ever existed
on the Red Planet.
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Jezero Crater is one of the most
important and enigmatic sites
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in the solar system.
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Around 3.8 billion years ago
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it was filled with a lake.
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But that lake is long gone.
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Mars has become
a dry and barren world.
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Today, Perseverance
and the Ingenuity helicopter
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are searching the crater
for signs of the life
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that may once have lived there.
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What they find could transform our
understanding of life -
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on Earth and throughout
the universe.
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It is certainly the most
audacious mission
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ever sent to the surface
of another world.
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TDL, this is mission.
I have you five by five. How read?
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I have you five by, as well.
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This is a crucial
seven days for the rover...
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..and I've been given extraordinary
access to the Perseverance mission.
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I'll be following the rover's
every move
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as it attempts to travel further
and faster than ever before.
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Through its cameras,
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we'll show you what it's like
to stand on...
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..and explore the surface
of another world.
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This week, we'll see the Red Planet
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as no-one has seen it before.
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This is Nasa's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
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4,800 Oak Grove Drive,
Pasadena, California.
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From the 1960s onwards,
it's been the control centre
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for Nasa's pioneering
deep space missions,
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and now it's the headquarters
for the hundreds of scientists
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and engineers who make
up the Perseverance team.
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JPL is a really special place for me
because, way back in 1980,
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I wrote to them because
I was interested
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in the exploration of the planets,
and they wrote back!
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And this is it.
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Imagine the excitement
when this brown envelope arrived
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from California, filled with images
of the solar system,
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the moons of Jupiter,
and the rings of Saturn.
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This is one of the reasons
I became a physicist.
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Well, now, 40 years later,
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I'm actually at JPL
because, as I speak,
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there is a rover roving
across the Martian surface -
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the first mission dedicated
to the search for life on Mars.
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And this week,
we have unique access,
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not only to Mission Control,
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but also to the navigators who are
plotting the path
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of Perseverance around the boulders
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and the mountains of Mars.
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And we're also going to see
the photographs,
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the data come down in real time.
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We're going to learn things
about Mars that nobody
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has ever known before.
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Can't wait.
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Just over a year ago,
the world held its breath
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as the Perseverance rover...
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..the flagship of
the Mars 2020 mission,
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made its final approach
towards Mars.
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After seven years of development
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and a six-month journey,
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no-one knew if
the 2.7 billion dollar rover
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would make it safely
onto the surface.
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Since then, Perseverance
has been exploring the area
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around its landing site
in Jezero Crater,
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sending back
the most extraordinary images.
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With the exception of
the occasional animation,
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every image of Mars
in this programme
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has been captured by the cameras
on Perseverance,
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or the other spacecraft around Mars.
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Perseverance's mission is to search
for signs of long-extinct life.
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What it discovers
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could answer one of the great
existential questions...
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..are we alone in the universe?
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This is JPL's Space Flight
Operations Facility
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or, better, Mission Control.
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And this room is iconic for anyone
that's into space flight,
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because this is the room
in which all those dramatic moments
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that we all remember happened.
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The dive of Cassini
into Saturn,
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the landing of Curiosity,
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and Perseverance on Mars.
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They're talking now to
the solar system,
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anything that's out there.
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This is where all the data comes
down from the Perseverance Rover.
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TDL, this is five by,
I have you five by.
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I have you five by, as well.
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This morning, the crew
in Mission Control are waiting
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to hear from Perseverance,
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which is currently 200 million miles
away on the surface of Mars.
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To find out how communication works
across such vast distances,
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I've come to see Rick Welch.
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So this room, sometimes, we call
the centre of the universe.
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This is where all the data comes
to this facility
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from all our spacecraft out
in the solar system.
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So you can see up on the
screen the different antenna.
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We actually have antennas at three
locations around the Earth,
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which allow us to really look out
and see spacecraft, no matter
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what planet they happen to be at.
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How does that work?
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Because Mars is... What is it?
About 200 million miles away,
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give or take, at the moment.
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Right now, as you said, we're about
300 million kilometres away,
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and it's probably about 16 minutes
to get our signal
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all the way to Mars, one way.
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So compare that to the moon.
It only takes a couple of seconds
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for a signal to get back and forth
to the moon.
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So even when we had
astronauts there,
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it seemed like we could talk back
and forth in real time.
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You know, 16 minutes is really
too long to do any kind
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of real-time communication.
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This delay in communication
between Earth and Mars
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determines so much of how
the mission operates.
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Because the team are unable
to control the rover in real time,
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they must compile detailed sets
of instructions to send
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to Perseverance every day.
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So the scientists and engineers
here on Earth
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spend about eight hours deciding
the next things for the rover to do,
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and building the commands. We then
send that up in the Martian morning.
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The rover is on its own to execute
those the best it can.
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And then we hear back in
the Martian afternoon
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what actually happened on Mars.
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Oh, so that says,
"Next UHF two hours."
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So is that... is that what that
means? That's right.
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So we're very interested
in getting our downlink today to see
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how the rover is doing.
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And that will be arriving
here in about two hours.
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While the crew in
Mission Control wait...
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..Perseverance is uploading its
latest data
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to one of several spacecraft
in orbit around Mars.
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That spacecraft will relay the data
back to Earth in two hours' time...
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..which gives me time to explore
the JPL campus.
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JPL is set in a beautiful location
in the mountains around Pasadena.
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It's about ten miles
from Los Angeles.
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And there's a reason that it's here,
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isolated, because it began life
as a rocket test facility.
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And the thing about rockets
when you're testing them,
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is that sometimes they explode.
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But in the 1950s, this became
the centre of America's exploration
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of the solar system and beyond,
and the first American satellite,
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Explorer 1, was built
and controlled from here,
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as were all those things
I grew up with -
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Voyager, Cassini, and now,
the latest, Perseverance.
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And in here, in the Mars yard,
we're going to meet its twin.
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This is Optimism.
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Engineers like their acronyms,
so that actually stands
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for Operational Perseverance Twin
with the Integration of Mechanisms
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and Instruments Sent to Mars.
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But it is, in every important
way, an exact engineering replica
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of Perseverance.
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There are a few things missing.
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For instance, on Earth, it's not
safe for the rover to be powered
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by nuclear battery, so instead
it's plugged into the mains.
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But, for example, it has exactly
the same
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flight computers as Perseverance.
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So if they want to upload
new software, then they upload
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it to that first, and test it
to make sure it works.
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And it's quite an imposing
thing, isn't it?
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It's bigger than I thought.
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Weighing over a ton on Earth, and
standing just over two metres tall,
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the rover is a beast.
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And it's packed with instruments
designed to scrutinise
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the Martian surface.
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Among them are 19 cameras,
more than any other spacecraft.
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Five are mounted at the top of
the mast
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to give a human-like
eye-level view
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of the Martian landscape.
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Lower down, cameras focus
on the area in front of the rover...
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..where the robot arm is deployed
to study and sample the surface,
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looking for signs of life.
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In just over a year, the rover's
cameras have sent
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over 200,000 images back to Earth.
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This morning, the latest batch
of photos
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are just about to arrive at JPL...
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..and I'm going to look at them
with the leader of the science team,
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Ken Farley.
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So here we have one of the images
that just came down from Mars today,
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and it's a great landscape looking
off to the north and east
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in Jezero Crater.
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Yeah. And do you still get excited
by the idea that nobody's ever seen
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this planet from this angle before?
It's completely new data.
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How could you not?
I mean, this is just...
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I love it. This is... Every day,
to be able to take in a landscape
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like this and be surprised
by things that we see.
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Still exciting to see it every day.
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Can you describe what we're seeing
in this image? In the foreground,
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you see the area that we've been
exploring for most of the last year.
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That's the crater floor.
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And then the thing that just
captures everybody's attention,
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including mine, is the delta.
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And the delta is very distinctive
and it's got a flat top.
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You can see the flat top
on the left side. Yeah.
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That's about 40 metres high.
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The delta is the most important
feature in Jezero Crater,
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and it's the reason Perseverance
was sent here.
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It was formed at the mouth
of a river that flowed into the lake
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that once filled the crater.
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The delta's layers of
sedimentary rock
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are thought to be the most likely
place to find evidence
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of the life that may once
have lived on Mars.
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And it's where the rover
is headed to next.
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We are just about to embark
on about a five-kilometre drive
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to get to the Delta. We would love
to just go straight there.
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It's only about two kilometres,
two and a half kilometres
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as the crow flies. But there are
boulders in the foreground
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and, in the middle distance, that
you can't easily see in this image,
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there are sand dunes, so we have to
go all the way around
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to get there.
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You don't want to get stuck.
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We absolutely do not want
to get stuck. That would be bad.
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Well, we've arrived at an extremely
exciting time
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for Perseverance on Mars.
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For the last year, it's been
exploring this region around here,
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but now it's going to set
off to its primary target,
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here in the ancient river delta.
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Now, it can't, or they don't want
to, take the direct route,
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because that would be through
this rocky dune field.
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It would take a long time, might
even be dangerous for the rover.
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And so what will be happening this
week is it's going to head off
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about, hopefully, 200 or 300 metres
a day
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driving in this direction.
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And then, by the end of the week -
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I really am looking forward
to this -
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it's going to thread its way,
we think, around the side
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of this crater. It looks quite nasty
from the air, but they say
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that it's certainly passable.
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And so, if we're lucky, then
Perseverance will be around here,
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at the end of our week here at JPL.
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Over the next week, I'll follow
the rover's every move as it starts
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the most important drive
of its mission so far.
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To cover the 1,200 metres
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to La Orotava crater in just
seven days,
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the rover will need to break
all distance and driving records.
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No rover has gone so far
across the surface of another planet
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in such a short space of time.
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We're hoping that journey will
start today,
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but first we need to be sure
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the rover is ready to move on.
241
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:13,360
This is where it happens.
242
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,360
So Rick is taking me to the daily
briefing meeting,
243
00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,280
on the rover operations floor.
244
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,680
Coming in to
the Perseverance Operation Facility,
245
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,040
we have this great selfie
of the rover,
246
00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:25,760
which is awesome to see.
247
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,640
And this picture is actually taken
248
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,440
with a camera at the end
of the robotic arm.
249
00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,720
So if you were the rover, it's
taking over 50 different pictures
250
00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,880
to actually build this mosaic.
251
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,480
I remember one of your engineers
actually saying that it behaved
252
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,120
like one of his teenagers would,
253
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,240
because it landed and the first
thing it did was take a selfie.
254
00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:46,840
Exactly. Exactly.
255
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,800
This maze of rooms is the beating
heart of the mission.
256
00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,600
It's usually strictly off-limits
to outsiders,
257
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,160
but today I've been given special
clearance to join the team inside.
258
00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:11,280
So this is one of our big
operations room.
259
00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,840
We call this the
Mission Support Area or MSA.
260
00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,240
And this is where our data comes.
261
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:25,880
Our tactical downlink lead
today is Keith.
262
00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,280
He's actually checking
in with all the team members,
263
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,440
all our engineering and
science members to make sure
264
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:38,480
they can hear him.
265
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,560
This is the team's chance to check
on the status of the rover,
266
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,240
and this morning it seems
all is not well.
267
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,840
Occasionally, we do need to say,
we see some issue with this system.
268
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,440
And so let's preclude use
of that for tomorrow,
269
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,480
until we have more time
to look at it.
270
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:09,960
Yeah, I think he said, didn't he,
that the drill had paused.
271
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,200
Monday, we'll be looking...
272
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,520
Before it's even started
its record-breaking drive,
273
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,360
the rover is facing a problem
that could delay its progress.
274
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:21,040
And it stems from this.
275
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,280
The last task in its investigation
of the crater floor was to take
276
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,360
a rock sample from this boulder,
277
00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,400
informally known as Sid.
278
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,000
So what have we got?
279
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,240
This is a very interesting image,
280
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,880
because we are trying to take
a core sample of this rock.
281
00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,800
And the rock was too hard
282
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,880
and the coring faulted.
283
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,920
It stopped with the drill
still stuck in the rocks.
284
00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:52,320
It's not supposed to be like that.
285
00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,560
I suppose you don't want to break
a drill bit, right?
286
00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,320
That's exactly right. If the rock is
too hard,
287
00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:59,200
you start to dull the drill bit,
288
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,440
and we have a small number of drill
bits and once they're all dull,
289
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,440
we're not going to be collecting
any more rocks.
290
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,240
So we are very careful not
to push the drill too hard.
291
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,840
And while the drill is stuck
in the rock,
292
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:13,840
the rover can't go anywhere.
293
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:17,320
This is what it's like on
a rover mission.
294
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,840
Every day, there's something
new that you have to deal with.
295
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,120
So what do you do?
We're asking for a core
296
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,560
that was about six centimetres long,
297
00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,600
and we know it got to five
centimetres before it faulted.
298
00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:29,720
So five centimetres - good enough.
299
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:31,920
So you don't care about
the extra centimetre.
300
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:33,680
You just want to get that core...
Right.
301
00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,000
We've decided that the best thing
to do was to simply snap
302
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,840
off this core from the rock,
303
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,760
and ingest it into the rover
and seal it.
304
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,120
As our first day at JPL ends,
the instructions telling the rover
305
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,480
to break off the sample
and withdraw the drill,
306
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,280
are sent to the Deep Space Network,
and onwards to Mars.
307
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,680
We won't know if it's been a success
until we return.
308
00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,560
Our fascination with Mars
is nothing new.
309
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,720
We know now that, in the early years
of the 20th century, this world
310
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:31,040
was being watched closely
by intelligences greater than man's.
311
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,160
Stories of Martian visitors
were once a staple
312
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:42,640
of cinema and radio.
313
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:47,360
And at the time, those stories
didn't seem as far-fetched
314
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:48,600
as they do today.
315
00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:56,560
Intellects vast cool
and unsympathetic,
316
00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,640
regarded this Earth
with envious eyes,
317
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,400
and slowly and surely
drew their plans against us.
318
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,240
It's hard to believe today,
but a century ago - actually,
319
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:15,040
as recently as the 1930s -
it was perfectly respectable
320
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,560
to imagine that there was
a civilisation on Mars.
321
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:25,760
Gee-whiz.
322
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,480
Invaders from Mars,
weird, fantastic beings
323
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,280
of a superintelligence, ruling
a race of synthetic humans
324
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,160
and pitting them against mankind's
dream to conquer the universe.
325
00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:44,720
They were beings as intelligent
or even more intelligent than us,
326
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,040
staring down at Earth.
327
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,280
This could be the beginning
of the end for the human race.
328
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,400
For what men first thought were
meteors, or the often-ridiculed
329
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,480
flying saucers are, in reality,
the flaming vanguard
330
00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,360
of the invasion from Mars.
331
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,320
Even into the 1950s, it was
reasonable to think that Mars
332
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,040
was covered in vegetation.
333
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,240
And the reason is that until
the space age,
334
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,360
this was the best
photograph we had of Mars.
335
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,480
This is from the 100-inch
telescope at Mount Wilson.
336
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,120
And these dark markings
on the surface, which move around,
337
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:26,120
actually, or appear to, as the
months pass and the seasons change,
338
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,080
look for all the world
like vegetation.
339
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:36,280
This is a book written by the great
Patrick Moore in the 1950s.
340
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,600
It's titled A Guide to Mars.
341
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,720
And in the chapter called
Life on Mars,
342
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,000
Patrick Moore writes this,
343
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,720
"To sum up, there is no reason
to suppose that low forms
344
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,600
"of vegetation may not exist
on Mars,
345
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,760
"whilst there is a great deal
of evidence that they do."
346
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,360
But that changed with the dawn
of the space age.
347
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:13,880
In November 1964, Nasa launched
Mariner 4 towards Mars...
348
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,240
..on a mission to return the first
close-up images of the planet.
349
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,240
The spacecraft is flying
toward Mars, about to pass
350
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,640
within 6,000 miles of its surface.
351
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:32,640
Back at JPL, they waited anxiously
as the data trickled in.
352
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,720
This would be the first
time we'd seen the surface
353
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,720
of another planet and, potentially,
signs of extraterrestrial life.
354
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:53,240
But all that emerged
was a barren, crater-scarred world,
355
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,200
with no sign of life
and certainly no Martians.
356
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:13,120
On August 20th 1975, the first
Viking spaceship was launched.
357
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,720
Subsequent missions revealed
the planet
358
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,320
in greater and greater detail,
359
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,720
hinting at a very different past.
360
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,200
By the mid-1970s, the Viking
missions had discovered
361
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,720
great river valleys, proof that
large amounts of water
362
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,720
had flowed across
the Martian surface.
363
00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,000
To investigate that history
of water,
364
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,600
a string of rovers were sent
to explore the surface.
365
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:55,240
They discovered a very different
world to the Mars we see today.
366
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,840
There was evidence that,
in the past,
367
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,720
Mars was covered in lakes
and even oceans.
368
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,240
On Earth, we know that wherever we
find water, we find life.
369
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:13,120
This all suggests that even if Mars
is a dead world today,
370
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,320
it may not always have been so.
371
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,800
In just 50 years,
372
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,480
we've come full circle, from
Mariner 4 apparently suggesting
373
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,040
that Mars is a dead world,
374
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:31,600
to believing again that it is
certainly possible
375
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,560
that life may have existed
at some point
376
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,280
in the history of the Red Planet.
377
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,720
And now it's up to Perseverance
to see if that's true.
378
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:11,720
Day two at JPL, and I return
to Mission Control
379
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,320
to see the new data that
Perseverance has sent back.
380
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:23,360
Ken. So, last time we spoke,
the drill bit was stuck in the rock.
381
00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:25,000
So what happened?
382
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,040
Well, we have this image of a
beautiful rock in the drill bit.
383
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,200
So now we know, just from this image
alone, that the drill was able
384
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,440
to break off the rock core
and pull out.
385
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:38,600
So that one's been solved.
386
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:40,680
The sample's safely stowed away.
387
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,680
So what's the plan today?
388
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,640
Well, that was the last thing
we had to do to complete
389
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,680
the crater floor campaign,
390
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,680
and we are ready to begin
the drive campaign.
391
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,120
So the main activity for the next
few weeks is drive, drive, drive.
392
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,520
With the time lost to the drilling
fault, Perseverance will now
393
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,600
have to average 200 metres a day
394
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,000
if it is to reach
La Orotava Crater
395
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,560
by the end of the week.
396
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,800
But the pictures from its cameras
397
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,520
showed that it's starting
from a tricky position,
398
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,840
surrounded by a maze of rocks
and sand traps.
399
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,440
To find its way onto clearer ground,
400
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,600
Perseverance is going to need help.
401
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,440
Vandi Verma is head
of the Rover Driving Team.
402
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:35,720
Hello, Vandi.
Hi. Nice to meet you.
403
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,320
So you're about to set off
on the journey, the long journey
404
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:41,680
around to the delta.
405
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,640
So how do you plan the next route?
406
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,480
So we look at the images. So I would
look at these
407
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:52,800
navigation camera images I took in
the direction we expect to drive.
408
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,160
And we turn these 3D goggles on.
409
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,640
If I put it into stereo
so you can yourself see it...
410
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,240
Oh, that really is quite
impressive, actually.
411
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,440
I can see the surface of Mars coming
out from the screen.
412
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,480
And you can see a curved ripple
here, with the rocks on it.
413
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,160
It's a really good substitute
for standing where the rover is
414
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,680
on Mars, and kind of looking
out to see
415
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,520
how you would navigate the terrain.
416
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,080
Using the 3D images, Vandi can begin
to plot Perseverance's route
417
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,040
through the obstacles.
418
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,480
Essentially, we are saying we want
to navigate around this area,
419
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,200
so we are doing the path
so it goes around this.
420
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,200
But we don't want to go over here,
421
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,800
because it's very sandy,
and sand, actually,
422
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:38,760
the wheels don't do very well in.
Ah, yeah.
423
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,120
You can see all the layers
as you start...
424
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,640
In hazardous terrain like this,
425
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,600
the only way the rover can safely
find its way
426
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,640
is by following Vandi's
carefully plotted route.
427
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,560
But this mode of rover driving
is slow.
428
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,280
It's only possible to programme
429
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,080
around 30 metres of driving
each day,
430
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,520
nowhere near enough to cover
the distances required
431
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,360
to reach the delta.
432
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,040
So once the rover reaches
safer ground,
433
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,400
Vandi points it in
the right direction
434
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,480
and activates its secret weapon.
435
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,640
So, now we're going to turn
on AutoNav,
436
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,520
because the rover will know more
on Mars
437
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,040
at that point than we know here.
438
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,360
AutoNav allows the rover to drive
itself across open terrain
439
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,120
where there are fewer obstacles
to avoid,
440
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:38,280
analysing the stereo images
from its cameras in real time
441
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,080
to pick a route across the surface.
442
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:50,840
For a demonstration of how it works,
443
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,240
I'm back in the Mars yard
444
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,040
to meet the Perseverance
project manager, Jennifer Trosper.
445
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:00,800
So I was told we have to wear
these coats.
446
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:02,600
I thought it was for my safety,
447
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,520
but I'm told it's for its safety,
to protect it from me.
448
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:06,960
It is, it is. Static. Yes.
449
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,640
And that's why I'm hooking up
right here, so that I don't zap
450
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,800
any of the electronics.
451
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,440
So, if I were to sit here - and
I can't believe I'm saying this -
452
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,120
but if I sit down, will she
recognise me?
453
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,520
Because of how well it's working
on Mars,
454
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,920
I wouldn't expect it to run
over you,
455
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,560
but we could give it a try.
456
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,200
Let's check it out. Let's have a go.
457
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,920
I love the words that you...
"She should."
458
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,560
No, she will.
"What should happen..."
459
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,640
She's... Really, just...
460
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,160
I mean, if I just sit here...
461
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,600
All right.
462
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:49,320
As I settle down for this game
of interplanetary chicken,
463
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,280
the first thing that becomes evident
is that Optimism
464
00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,360
is more of a tortoise than hare.
465
00:30:55,360 --> 00:31:00,000
This is top speed,
4.2 centimetres a second
466
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,160
or just under one mile
every ten hours.
467
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,480
I'd like to say it's nerve-racking
but, in all honesty,
468
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,360
I could definitely get
out of the way.
469
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:14,880
As the rover drives forwards,
470
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,520
it's constantly imaging the ground
in front,
471
00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,080
building a map
of the obstacles that it will
472
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,160
need to avoid - in this case, me.
473
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:31,000
She's just taking some more images
to update her nav map.
474
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,280
Then she has to decide how to get
around you.
475
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:34,920
So it should be identifying...
476
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:39,400
There you go. Looks like she has
identified you as an obstacle
477
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,200
and is choosing to turn.
478
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,280
So it looks like she's not
going to drive over you.
479
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:45,320
It does.
480
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:51,360
Although the wheels are slightly
resetting towards me.
481
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,840
She's going to make a close pass,
I think.
482
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:04,960
Oh, excellent.
483
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,760
It's gone straight over the GoPro.
484
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,520
So she was very careful with me,
485
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,560
but not so careful with our cameras.
486
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,920
The thing that's impressive
is that nobody's driving.
487
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,280
So even though it doesn't look
like it's driving fast,
488
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,840
you've got to remember that she's
driving across unknown terrain,
489
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:33,160
making her own decisions.
490
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:37,920
And this makes this rover,
Perseverance, by far the fastest
491
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,760
thing we've ever sent to the surface
of any other planet.
492
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,040
It's this unique set of skills
that allows the rover to travel
493
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,800
200 to 300 metres every day.
494
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,520
And if Perseverance is going to make
it to La Orotava Crater
495
00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:58,160
by the end of the week,
it'll need to go flat out.
496
00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:05,840
At the end of day two, I head back
to the rover operations floor,
497
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:09,320
where Vandi and the rover driving
team should have finished the plans
498
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,800
for the first stage of that drive.
499
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,800
So when the rover's route
has been planned,
500
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,560
then those instructions have
first of all got to be checked
501
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,320
and amalgamated in with all
the other instructions
502
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,520
to all the instruments on the rover.
So what's the arm going to do?
503
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,320
What are the experiments
going to do?
504
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:29,320
Where are the cameras
going to be looking?
505
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,360
And those sequences, those commands,
are all put together
506
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,600
in this meeting, which is called
the cam meeting,
507
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,080
the command approval meeting.
508
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,320
And only when everybody's happy,
and all those commands
509
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,560
have been sent to simulators -
twice, actually -
510
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:45,080
that check that everything's
going to be OK,
511
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,400
can those commands be signed off
and sent to the Deep Space Network,
512
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:51,520
and onwards to the rover on Mars.
513
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,760
In here, the team are putting
together the final list
514
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,200
of instructions that will
determine exactly
515
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:01,840
what the rover does tomorrow.
516
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:05,760
There are thousands of lines of code
517
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:08,280
and each one must be scrutinised.
518
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,040
A single bug in the software
could jeopardise
519
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,040
the carefully plotted drive plan.
520
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,200
What we do after we finish
on this shift is we really celebrate
521
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,040
the effort that everybody put
together, and we actually hit
522
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,040
the gong behind me, that we would
love for you to do it today.
523
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,040
Really? Because that is
the tremendous honour.
524
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:30,560
Am I supposed to say something?
525
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,240
"I declare this meeting closed."
526
00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:34,080
That sounds about right to me.
527
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,680
And with that bang of the gong,
528
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:44,880
the instructions are sent
off on their long journey to Mars.
529
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,040
All being well,
the rover should receive them
530
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:52,760
and finally be able to start
531
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,360
on its record-breaking journey
in the morning.
532
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,000
Perseverance has already changed
the way we look at the Red Planet.
533
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,000
The photos it takes
can be stitched together
534
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,760
into astonishing panoramas.
535
00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,800
Scenes that let us stand
on the surface of another world.
536
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:31,640
It is a stark and barren
landscape, dimmer than the Earth.
537
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,600
Because it's farther from the sun,
less than half the amount
538
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,920
of sunlight reaches the surface.
539
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,120
But, in some ways, it looks
remarkably familiar.
540
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,080
There are sand dunes and boulder
fields that could have been
541
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,720
photographed in deserts
here on Earth.
542
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:53,040
There are even clouds in
the orange-coloured skies.
543
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:02,920
And because Perseverance is the only
Martian rover to carry microphones,
544
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,880
we can hear the sounds of Mars
for the first time.
545
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,120
The whistling of the wind
546
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,800
that stirs up the dust devils that
ghost across the surface.
547
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,560
Perseverance has even observed
a solar eclipse,
548
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:27,440
as Mars's moon Phobos passes in
front of the sun.
549
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,840
But although there are undoubted
similarities to the Earth,
550
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,680
Mars is also a very alien world.
551
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,280
Because it's half the diameter
of our planet,
552
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,000
gravity on the surface is just 38%
as strong.
553
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,640
And while the Earth is wet,
warm and welcoming,
554
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,800
Mars is a desolate,
inhospitable place.
555
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,680
Its dusty surface is bone dry,
and covered by a thin
556
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:03,240
carbon dioxide atmosphere
just 1% the density of Earth's.
557
00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:09,720
The average temperature
is -63 degrees Celsius.
558
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,400
It is cold, dry and dead.
559
00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,840
This is the world that Perseverance
is exploring.
560
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,480
Day three, and it's an early
start at JPL.
561
00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:53,080
Just see it there.
562
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,400
So coincidentally, early morning
at JPL,
563
00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,760
we've just walked into
Mission Control,
564
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:05,040
and that bright point of light
in the sky there, Venus,
565
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:08,920
and just below it, you can just see
this faint red pixel
566
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:10,800
in the morning sky.
567
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:12,720
That's Mars.
568
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,600
In the brightening sky,
569
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,040
Mars is too faint for our cameras.
570
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,920
But somewhere out there,
Perseverance will hopefully
571
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,760
have just completed the first
stage of its drive.
572
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:33,760
So how did the drive go yesterday?
573
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,520
It looks like it went well,
but we really can't tell yet.
574
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:41,200
The data comes down in bits
and pieces, and right now
575
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,560
we have an image that was taken
in the late afternoon
576
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,880
at about the time I would
expect the drive to stop.
577
00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:52,320
This is looking forward,
and if we look backward,
578
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,200
we should be able to see
the rover tracks.
579
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,160
So now we're looking back
the way we came.
580
00:38:56,160 --> 00:39:00,000
So it looks just as you would expect
if it had executed its full drive.
581
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:01,400
That's interesting, actually,
582
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:06,200
if you go back to that one, it's
just so obvious when you say it.
583
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:09,640
You can tell it's late afternoon
because of the long shadows on Mars.
584
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:11,160
Yeah, it's like Earth, you know,
585
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,000
it's not surprising.
You figure it out. Of course. Yeah.
586
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:19,640
When the telemetry from the rover
returns to Earth,
587
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,640
it shows exactly how well the rover
has fared on its drive.
588
00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:29,160
To start off, it follows Vandi's
route through the treacherous
589
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,000
sand patches and boulders.
590
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,400
And then, as the AutoNav takes over,
the rover swings north
591
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,560
and drives itself
towards La Orotava Crater.
592
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,640
Covering a total distance of
204 metres
593
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,600
and 96 centimetres.
594
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,400
It's a great start to the journey.
595
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,920
But after this initial success,
596
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,240
the team are now facing an enforced
change of plan.
597
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,600
Tomorrow, the mission will
temporarily lose access
598
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:10,480
to the Deep Space Network.
599
00:40:12,240 --> 00:40:14,840
For 24 hours, they will not be able
to communicate
600
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:16,600
with the rover on Mars.
601
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,960
So to keep up with the schedule,
they've been forced into
602
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:22,880
a risky change of strategy.
603
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:28,920
So we're making a two-day drive
plan, because tomorrow
604
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,680
we don't have access to the antennas
that communicate with the rover.
605
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,280
So we send two days' worth
of instructions and just let
606
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:38,120
the rover do its thing and we get
a day off.
607
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:41,400
So how far would you hope to get?
About 500 metres.
608
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:44,600
Oh, really? Yeah, that's...
That'll be a big jump.
609
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,000
Today, they will be doing
a two-stop plan.
610
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,680
So when you're doing your assessment
today, let's make sure
611
00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:55,760
that everything is green
and go for these activities
612
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:57,440
that will be coming up.
613
00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,160
Now, we just heard that the plan
for the next two days
614
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:04,440
is for Perseverance to do
a two-day drive.
615
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:08,120
And as I speak, you can see
there, Canberra Deep Space Network
616
00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:11,840
antennae 35, there's communication
upwards to MRO.
617
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:13,680
That's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
618
00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:16,320
So those are probably the
instructions that are going
619
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:20,640
to Perseverance to tell
it what to do on that two-day drive.
620
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,760
As the commands hurtle their way
towards Mars,
621
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:28,840
I want to find out how Perseverance
got to Jezero Crater.
622
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:38,480
Jezero is the most dangerous
location that NASA has ever
623
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,800
tried to land a spacecraft on Mars.
624
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:47,200
It is full of hazards
that could be fatal to the mission.
625
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:53,040
But if there's one place to come
to find the engineers who could
626
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:57,240
pull off this feat of precision
landing, it's JPL.
627
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:05,000
And this is JPL's motto,
Dare Mighty Things.
628
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,800
And JPL lives up, definitely,
to that motto,
629
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:12,560
as you can see from this award
cabinet, the trophy cabinet.
630
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,480
And it's just a history of space
exploration. For anyone who's
631
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:18,480
interested in our exploration
of the universe,
632
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,240
then this is just magnificent.
633
00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:23,720
You see awards for Voyager,
634
00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:25,880
Mars Exploration Rovers,
635
00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:30,800
the Dawn Mission, Cassini,
just everything.
636
00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,880
What's that one up there?
That's quite ornate, isn't it?
637
00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,040
Appreciation for your support
and participation
638
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:42,360
in The American Space Experience
at Disneyland.
639
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,560
Upstairs from the trophy cabinet
is the office of Al Chen,
640
00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:55,400
the engineer who was in charge
of designing the entry, descent
641
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,000
and landing system that would
allow Perseverance
642
00:42:58,000 --> 00:42:59,720
to touch down in Jezero.
643
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:04,760
The scientists tell us about, you
know, the potential for life there.
644
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:07,360
But when we look at it from
a landing perspective,
645
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:09,680
all you can see are the ways
we're going to die there.
646
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,720
The death that's out there.
It's a site unlike any other place
647
00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:13,960
we've tried to land on Mars.
648
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,440
It's just got hazards
all over the place.
649
00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,440
If we turn on the slope hazards
here, you see the edge of the delta,
650
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:20,920
which is that 60 metre-ish cliff.
651
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:22,680
And then, of course, the edges
of craters,
652
00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:24,480
and those are places we don't want
to land.
653
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:25,680
But of course, that's not it.
654
00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:27,800
These are all the rocks
that we could see from space,
655
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,640
which means about a half metre
tall or so, or more.
656
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,120
If you manage to encounter
one of those red places,
657
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,040
you're very likely
to have a bad day.
658
00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:38,520
So those blue areas, they're
the safe areas. That's right.
659
00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:42,480
When I look at that, it looks
like mainly hazard to me.
660
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:49,120
Al's job was to design a system
that would allow Perseverance
661
00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:53,960
to identify and then land in one
of the safe areas near the delta.
662
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:08,240
But the first time his landing
system could be fully tested
663
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:11,040
was on February the 18th, 2021...
664
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:20,400
..as the spacecraft approached Mars
at the end of its six-month journey.
665
00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:22,040
You are not triggered for talk.
666
00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:33,600
It's kind of weird to have the only
test that you ever get a chance
667
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,920
to do, you know, in front of
everybody else in the world, right?
668
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:38,360
Definitely, my heart was racing.
669
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:40,800
I probably didn't want to know
what my blood pressure was.
670
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:45,480
As the spacecraft makes
its final approach,
671
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:49,000
it's travelling at
20,000km per hour.
672
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:58,720
The job of Al's entry, descent
and landing system is to slow
673
00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:02,640
it down to walking pace by the time
it reaches the surface.
674
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:12,240
Because of the delay
in communication with Mars,
675
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:14,480
the whole process is automated.
676
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:20,160
All the crew in Mission Control
can do is watch and wait.
677
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:24,240
They call it the seven minutes
of terror.
678
00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:30,480
In the first stage of the descent,
679
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,960
the spacecraft skims across the top
of the Martian atmosphere.
680
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,320
Even though it's much thinner
than the Earth's, the friction
681
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:43,400
is immense, causing the spacecraft's
heat shield to glow red-hot.
682
00:45:57,040 --> 00:45:59,480
After four minutes, the spacecraft
has slowed
683
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:01,640
to 1,500 kilometres an hour.
684
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:06,080
It's now just 11km
above the planet's surface.
685
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:12,560
Filmed with the lander's cameras,
686
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,600
this is the actual video
of the parachute deploying
687
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:17,480
in the Martian atmosphere.
688
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:23,640
As the heat shield falls away,
689
00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:28,560
the unique artificial intelligence
system Al designed kicks in.
690
00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:31,880
Its job is to scan the ground
below and identify
691
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,360
a safe landing zone.
692
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:41,160
2km above the surface...
693
00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:47,360
..the parachute is released
694
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:49,880
and the eight lander rockets fire up
695
00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:52,720
to steer the craft towards its
chosen landing site.
696
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:01,160
And then the most
nerve-racking moment.
697
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:11,280
The rover is lowered the last
few metres on cables,
698
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:13,960
touching down in a swirl
of Martian dust.
699
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:29,560
Where did Perseverance choose
to come down?
700
00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:32,800
Perseverance came down in the Seitah
area, so we ended up kind of
701
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,880
down in this region right
about here.
702
00:47:35,880 --> 00:47:37,760
You can see the hazards
that are out there.
703
00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:40,840
But you can see that the area right
around the rover is nice and clean.
704
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:43,800
It's the parking
lot we were looking for.
705
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:50,760
The first pictures taken
by Perseverance on the surface
706
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:53,400
showed just how precise
the landing was.
707
00:47:56,200 --> 00:48:00,160
It had picked out a tiny area
of flat ground in a landscape filled
708
00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:02,240
with boulders and sand dunes.
709
00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:09,800
But this landscape was not
always so dry and dusty.
710
00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:11,400
It was once submerged.
711
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:18,320
About 3.8 billion years ago,
712
00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:21,760
Jezero Crater was filled with water,
713
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,680
forming a lake 45km across.
714
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,760
On Earth, we always find
life where there's water.
715
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:38,520
If the same is true on Mars,
716
00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:40,600
then life could have existed
717
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:45,080
in Jezero Lake at almost
exactly the same time
718
00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:47,400
that it was evolving on Earth.
719
00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:59,480
With the Deep Space Network down,
720
00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:02,920
there will be no update
from Perseverance today.
721
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:09,040
But a couple of hours' drive
from JPL
722
00:49:09,040 --> 00:49:12,040
is a unique lake called
the Salton Sea.
723
00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:17,000
Set amongst the desert mountains,
724
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,520
I could almost imagine the lake
in Jezero Crater.
725
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:27,200
I've come here to meet
astrobiologist Tim Lyons.
726
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:35,040
We're sat here in the middle
of a desert.
727
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:38,280
Very hot, very dry.
No sign of rain.
728
00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:41,360
And yet there's this lake.
So why is the lake here?
729
00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:44,760
Well, the lake is here because of
an engineering disaster.
730
00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:47,360
In 1905, an irrigation canal
was breached
731
00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:50,640
by floodwaters from the Colorado,
732
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:53,400
and it drained almost unabatedly
into this basin for two years.
733
00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:56,600
Subsequent to that, it has received
agricultural runoff.
734
00:49:56,600 --> 00:50:00,280
So the water that we're looking
at now is essentially waste water.
735
00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:02,440
It's a pretty nasty place,
to be honest with you.
736
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:04,280
And the fish are not doing
very well,
737
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:06,680
and the birds are correspondingly
being impacted.
738
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:10,560
But algae, bacteria,
microbes are thriving.
739
00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:13,600
It's not a healthy environment,
but it is teeming with life.
740
00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:22,200
It's this lake's unique
microbial ecosystem
741
00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:25,840
that makes it an ideal place for
studying the origin of life
742
00:50:25,840 --> 00:50:28,640
on Earth and on Mars.
743
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:36,600
Look at these pools of colour.
744
00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:37,920
Pools of life!
745
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:40,720
This is the stuff.
746
00:50:40,720 --> 00:50:44,800
That's the warm little pond
teeming with life.
747
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:48,080
It looks just like...
I'm a physicist.
748
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:51,320
It just looks like some
floating scum.
749
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:53,560
That's one description of it, yeah.
750
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:56,400
So this is what you'd call
a microbial mat?
751
00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:59,680
Well, I would say that this might
be a microbial mat in the making.
752
00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:03,520
And so this is what early
Earth life was like.
753
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:07,000
Some of our very best, most
convincing evidence for life
754
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:10,760
going back in time on Earth
are microbial mats, things
755
00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:15,640
like this pond that end up with
these laminated concentrations,
756
00:51:15,640 --> 00:51:17,920
things we call stromatolites,
757
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:21,040
found in places like Australia that
go back, convincingly,
758
00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,080
to three and a half billion
years ago,
759
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:26,680
and some people would argue
maybe even to 3.7 billion years ago.
760
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:29,280
That's very close to the window
of time
761
00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:31,480
that is being studied in Jezero.
762
00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:35,760
So if we were to imagine sort
of, what, 3.8 billion years ago,
763
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:38,400
standing on the shores of
Jezero Crater,
764
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:40,680
is there any chance
it may have looked like this?
765
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:42,320
Oh, absolutely. I think so.
766
00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:44,640
I think even a sceptic
would have to admit that.
767
00:51:44,640 --> 00:51:47,080
And so here we're looking
at the actual life
768
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:48,600
that may have been present,
769
00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:51,680
analogous life present
on Mars in Jezero,
770
00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:54,840
3.8, 3.7 billion years ago.
771
00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:20,800
Now I suppose you might
reasonably ask,
772
00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:23,320
why are we so interested
in the question,
773
00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:26,760
"Did life exist on a planet
millions of miles away
774
00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:29,000
"three and a half billion
years ago?"
775
00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:31,960
I don't think, actually, that's
a reasonable question
776
00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:34,560
because the question, "Are we alone
in the universe?"
777
00:52:34,560 --> 00:52:37,680
is one of the most
profound philosophical questions.
778
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:41,200
But if you want to be more pragmatic
about it, then you might
779
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:43,800
be interested in how life
began here.
780
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,400
How did we come to be here on Earth?
781
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:51,200
And the evidence for the origin
of life on Earth
782
00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:55,200
has actually largely been erased,
because Earth is an active world.
783
00:52:55,200 --> 00:52:58,040
There's plate tectonics which take
the evidence
784
00:52:58,040 --> 00:53:00,760
and literally take it down
inside the planet.
785
00:53:00,760 --> 00:53:04,680
There's weathering with rain
and wind and the oceans.
786
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:08,360
And so there's very little evidence
of what Earth was like
787
00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:10,320
three and a half billion years ago.
788
00:53:10,320 --> 00:53:14,280
But on Mars, it's different,
because Mars is a planet
789
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:18,360
that's been in deep freeze for
three and a half billion years.
790
00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:21,520
There is no plate tectonics.
There's very little weathering.
791
00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:28,360
So if life began on Mars,
the evidence may still be there.
792
00:53:30,240 --> 00:53:34,000
So paradoxically, if you're
interested in how we came
793
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:37,920
to be here, the answer might lie
up there.
794
00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:46,320
It's these profound questions
about the origin of life
795
00:53:46,320 --> 00:53:49,560
that make Perseverance's mission
so important.
796
00:53:51,560 --> 00:53:53,520
But searching for signs
of ancient life
797
00:53:53,520 --> 00:53:56,240
on the surface of Mars isn't easy.
798
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:05,920
Finding the remnants of it and then
proving that it really is evidence
799
00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:09,000
of life is the rover's
biggest challenge.
800
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:23,960
Back at JPL,
I'm meeting Luther Beegle...
801
00:54:23,960 --> 00:54:25,640
Hello, Luther. Hey.
802
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:29,800
..one of the chief scientists
on the Perseverance team.
803
00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:32,240
It would be one of
the greatest discoveries
804
00:54:32,240 --> 00:54:35,160
in the history of science,
wouldn't it?
805
00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:38,640
In the history of civilisation.
"We're not alone in the universe."
806
00:54:38,640 --> 00:54:42,800
So how much would it take
to convince you?
807
00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:46,920
I know that you can never convince
a roomful of scientists.
808
00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:48,080
Not all of them.
809
00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:50,640
No, we're not... We're not
convincing a roomful of scientists
810
00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:52,720
on what they had for lunch.
811
00:54:52,720 --> 00:54:56,320
But I don't know what that level
of convincing would be.
812
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:58,840
It's something that's going to take
a lot of evidence and a lot
813
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:03,440
of chains, and a lot of different
measurements to prove out.
814
00:55:03,440 --> 00:55:06,240
Luther is in charge of an instrument
called Sherlock.
815
00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:09,920
Located at the end
of the rover's arm,
816
00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:13,240
it's a laser scanner designed
to detect
817
00:55:13,240 --> 00:55:16,200
the faintest chemical traces
that life leaves behind.
818
00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:20,400
And we can demonstrate its abilities
819
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:23,800
with some of the most ancient
evidence of life on Earth.
820
00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:29,680
Life always leaves its imprint
on its environments.
821
00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:32,040
I can show you in this
particular sample here,
822
00:55:32,040 --> 00:55:35,320
this is a stromatolite from
the Strelley pool formation
823
00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:38,360
in Australia. It's about
3.5 billion years old.
824
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:41,240
I love the way you throw
that away, by the way.
825
00:55:41,240 --> 00:55:43,280
Three and a half billion years old.
826
00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:45,920
Yeah. I mean, it just looks
like a rock to me.
827
00:55:45,920 --> 00:55:47,040
So what... What...
828
00:55:47,040 --> 00:55:50,960
How would you convince me or anyone
else that was biological?
829
00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:53,240
Well, if I wet this rock, you
can kind of see
830
00:55:53,240 --> 00:55:55,800
the lines a little bit
better. And so...
831
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:01,920
So here you can really see, they
really come out a little bit better.
832
00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:04,400
Oh, yeah. So you can see
the white layer and the black layer,
833
00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,840
back and forth. Yeah, I can see
those really clearly. Yeah.
834
00:56:06,840 --> 00:56:08,960
So why does that indicate
biological activity?
835
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:11,320
These particular stromatolites
are curved,
836
00:56:11,320 --> 00:56:12,800
have different formations,
837
00:56:12,800 --> 00:56:15,800
that could only have been created
through biological processes.
838
00:56:15,800 --> 00:56:19,240
So are you looking for patterns
like this on Mars?
839
00:56:19,240 --> 00:56:21,480
We are looking for patterns
like this on Mars
840
00:56:21,480 --> 00:56:25,000
as a first indication that this
is either a sedimentary rock,
841
00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:26,440
or a stromatolite.
842
00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:29,600
And then we have to do the next
layer of analysis on those rocks.
843
00:56:31,760 --> 00:56:34,480
And this is where Sherlock comes in.
844
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:38,280
After scraping away the surface
of the rock, it zooms in
845
00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:40,360
to examine it in microscopic detail.
846
00:56:42,240 --> 00:56:45,360
Using the reflected light
from lasers to detect
847
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:48,440
the tiny variations
in chemical composition
848
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:51,280
that are left behind
by living organisms.
849
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:57,160
So here you can see what a Sherlock
scan, where we went in and looked
850
00:56:57,160 --> 00:57:00,040
at where the organic molecules
on this particular rock was.
851
00:57:00,040 --> 00:57:03,480
The purple material here
is the ancient organic material.
852
00:57:03,480 --> 00:57:06,400
You can see that there are lines
associated with this,
853
00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:09,360
where the basic biology then grew
and died,
854
00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:12,280
and grew and died, and moved
up the rock like this.
855
00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:17,200
So these are literally the remains
of organisms that lived potentially
856
00:57:17,200 --> 00:57:20,160
billions of years ago. Potentially
billions of years ago.
857
00:57:22,520 --> 00:57:26,640
The great hope is that Perseverance
will find similar signs of life
858
00:57:26,640 --> 00:57:28,040
when it reaches the delta.
859
00:57:32,320 --> 00:57:33,440
You must be waiting...
860
00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:36,120
I know the Perseverance
landed, and there's a lot
861
00:57:36,120 --> 00:57:37,960
of geology being done.
You must be saying,
862
00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:40,120
"Can you just get
round to the delta, please?"
863
00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:41,960
We do. "Can we go? Can we go?
Can we go?
864
00:57:41,960 --> 00:57:44,160
"I want to go to the delta.
I want to go to the delta."
865
00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:45,560
But we understand the geology.
866
00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:48,040
You know, we're a big giant
400-person team, so you kind
867
00:57:48,040 --> 00:57:49,240
of want to work together.
868
00:57:49,240 --> 00:57:51,240
But at the same time,
"Can we can get to the delta?
869
00:57:51,240 --> 00:57:52,480
"Can we get to the delta?
870
00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:54,720
"Can we stay at the delta
for a while?" Yeah.
871
00:57:54,720 --> 00:57:58,920
So images like this, you know,
potentially, in a golden scenario,
872
00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:02,760
we could expect results
like this in a few months?
873
00:58:02,760 --> 00:58:05,640
Yeah, in months rather than years,
874
00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:08,120
which is nice
to see the finish line.
875
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:16,360
It is a tantalising thought that we
may soon get our first hints,
876
00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:18,520
our first pieces of evidence
877
00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:21,880
that life may once
have filled this crater.
878
00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:40,480
Day five.
879
00:58:40,480 --> 00:58:44,600
After 24 hours of radio silence,
contact is re-established
880
00:58:44,600 --> 00:58:46,480
with Perseverance on Mars...
881
00:58:48,240 --> 00:58:51,240
..and we get our first update
on the two-day drive.
882
00:58:55,240 --> 00:58:58,640
Photos and telemetry show the first
part of the drive
883
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:00,600
has gone according to plan.
884
00:59:00,600 --> 00:59:05,960
The rover covering another
259 metres and 37 centimetres
885
00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:08,920
around the edge of the Seitah
sand dunes.
886
00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:14,040
But it seems that this is as far
as the rover will be going for now.
887
00:59:22,760 --> 00:59:25,160
News filters through that
the instructions
888
00:59:25,160 --> 00:59:27,880
for the second day's drive
had a bug in them
889
00:59:27,880 --> 00:59:30,200
and were never received
by the rover.
890
00:59:34,360 --> 00:59:36,520
To find out what went wrong,
891
00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:40,840
I'm off to find deputy mission
scientist Katie Stack Morgan.
892
00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:45,280
So do you know what happened
overnight when the data came down?
893
00:59:45,280 --> 00:59:48,400
Yes. So we had planned two days'
worth of driving.
894
00:59:48,400 --> 00:59:52,200
And that's a brand-new capability
for Mars rovers, being able to plan
895
00:59:52,200 --> 00:59:54,560
drives in a row like that.
896
00:59:54,560 --> 00:59:58,320
But we encountered an issue that
prevented us from uplinking
897
00:59:58,320 --> 01:00:01,520
both of those drives, and sending
both of those drives to the rover.
898
01:00:01,520 --> 01:00:04,720
It's interesting to me that the
problem was not with... on Mars.
899
01:00:04,720 --> 01:00:06,280
No issue on Mars at all.
900
01:00:06,280 --> 01:00:09,560
But it's the computer
software, basically. That's right.
901
01:00:09,560 --> 01:00:11,480
You know, and these things
happen all the time.
902
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:14,080
And we deal with them. In
a way this is helpful to us,
903
01:00:14,080 --> 01:00:17,040
because by giving the rover
a whole day to recharge,
904
01:00:17,040 --> 01:00:19,640
we then fill up our batteries all
the way to the top,
905
01:00:19,640 --> 01:00:22,240
and we can get ready to do
long drives in the weekend plan.
906
01:00:22,240 --> 01:00:24,640
So - silver lining to that,
to not being able
907
01:00:24,640 --> 01:00:25,960
to get that other drive up.
908
01:00:29,160 --> 01:00:32,560
Having fallen another day
behind schedule, the rover now
909
01:00:32,560 --> 01:00:35,680
has to travel 750 metres in just
two days
910
01:00:35,680 --> 01:00:37,720
to reach La Orotava crater
911
01:00:37,720 --> 01:00:39,400
by the end of the week.
912
01:00:42,320 --> 01:00:46,720
But Perseverance isn't the only
vehicle that the team has on Mars.
913
01:00:46,720 --> 01:00:51,000
And this week, I've also come
to learn about its companion.
914
01:00:53,960 --> 01:00:58,000
Ingenuity, the first-ever
extraterrestrial helicopter.
915
01:00:59,800 --> 01:01:03,840
I'm fascinated by this machine
because it was designed to do
916
01:01:03,840 --> 01:01:09,920
the seemingly impossible - to fly
in Mars's almost vanishingly thin
917
01:01:09,920 --> 01:01:13,440
atmosphere, just 1% as thick
as the Earth's.
918
01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:26,000
To find out how Ingenuity
achieves such a feat,
919
01:01:26,000 --> 01:01:30,600
I'm meeting Havard Grip, the
helicopter's chief pilot, who's
920
01:01:30,600 --> 01:01:34,720
taking me to see the engineering
model of the helicopter.
921
01:01:37,600 --> 01:01:40,600
So this is our helicopter lab.
922
01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:45,560
It's probably the most important
space that we have as a project.
923
01:01:45,560 --> 01:01:49,480
So here you want to stay away
from the model in the middle,
924
01:01:49,480 --> 01:01:51,000
and the hardware along the edges.
925
01:01:51,000 --> 01:01:52,920
I'm really... I'm really excited
to see this.
926
01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:56,040
It's smaller than I imagined.
927
01:01:56,040 --> 01:02:01,080
Although the blades look, to me,
much bigger than I'd imagined.
928
01:02:01,080 --> 01:02:02,760
Much thicker.
That's right.
929
01:02:02,760 --> 01:02:05,880
So the main thing you notice
is just the size of the rotor.
930
01:02:05,880 --> 01:02:07,720
1.2 metres, tip to tip.
931
01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:09,400
It's just huge, you know,
932
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:13,280
And if that was on Earth
with this same kind of rotor,
933
01:02:13,280 --> 01:02:15,720
it could lift a huge amount of mass.
934
01:02:15,720 --> 01:02:20,520
But on Mars, you need that just
to lift this tiny little helicopter
935
01:02:20,520 --> 01:02:24,520
off the ground.
How much does it weigh? 1.8kg.
936
01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:26,560
Is that all? That's it, yeah.
937
01:02:30,640 --> 01:02:35,320
Even at 1.8 kilos, it wasn't clear
that Ingenuity would be able to fly
938
01:02:35,320 --> 01:02:36,720
in Mars's atmosphere.
939
01:02:39,560 --> 01:02:44,400
On April 19, 2021, Perseverance
pointed its cameras
940
01:02:44,400 --> 01:02:48,280
at the helicopter, as it prepared
for its first flight.
941
01:02:51,800 --> 01:02:55,760
And millions of miles away
at JPL, its engineering team
942
01:02:55,760 --> 01:02:57,800
waited for news...
943
01:02:57,800 --> 01:02:59,880
..of success or failure.
944
01:03:49,960 --> 01:03:51,840
I see you brought your logbook,
which has got
945
01:03:51,840 --> 01:03:53,960
to be the coolest logbook.
946
01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:58,440
It's pretty neat. It's called the
pilot's logbook
947
01:03:58,440 --> 01:04:00,000
for planets and moons.
948
01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:03,800
Yeah. So it's you and
the Apollo astronauts.
949
01:04:03,800 --> 01:04:06,240
That's basically...
That's pretty much it.
950
01:04:06,240 --> 01:04:08,600
I love this. So the remarks
are fantastic.
951
01:04:08,600 --> 01:04:11,920
"First powered flight by an aircraft
on another world."
952
01:04:11,920 --> 01:04:14,280
That's right. That's fantastic.
953
01:04:14,280 --> 01:04:16,600
It was fun to write that, yeah.
954
01:04:17,720 --> 01:04:21,680
"Climb to three metres, turns
96 degrees to the right."
955
01:04:22,920 --> 01:04:25,480
That's just wonderful. That will go
down in history, won't it?
956
01:04:25,480 --> 01:04:27,840
That's going to be one of those
things that has a picture.
957
01:04:27,840 --> 01:04:32,040
It is aviation history, you know,
so it's pretty special
958
01:04:32,040 --> 01:04:33,360
to be part of it.
959
01:04:38,640 --> 01:04:42,280
Ingenuity's place in history
is assured.
960
01:04:42,280 --> 01:04:46,080
Initially, it was only designed
to survive for three months and make
961
01:04:46,080 --> 01:04:47,400
just five flights.
962
01:04:48,720 --> 01:04:54,400
But over a year later, it was still
going strong, making 20 flights,
963
01:04:54,400 --> 01:04:58,320
clocking up over 36 minutes'
total flight time,
964
01:04:58,320 --> 01:05:00,240
and covering over 4km.
965
01:05:01,520 --> 01:05:06,000
But its real contribution
to the mission may still be to come.
966
01:05:07,880 --> 01:05:12,240
If the helicopter can make
it to the delta, this ability to fly
967
01:05:12,240 --> 01:05:14,280
over the steep slopes and cliffs
968
01:05:14,280 --> 01:05:17,640
that the rover can't access
will prove invaluable.
969
01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:24,200
But even reaching the delta
will be an enormous challenge.
970
01:05:25,840 --> 01:05:30,560
And just before our seven-day rover
mission began, Ingenuity attempted
971
01:05:30,560 --> 01:05:32,880
the next flight on that journey.
972
01:05:34,920 --> 01:05:40,280
It's very exciting, actually,
because yesterday, Earth time,
973
01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:43,840
the helicopter flew and we don't
know what happened to it.
974
01:05:43,840 --> 01:05:46,800
Actually, the data came down last
night, and this is the meeting
975
01:05:46,800 --> 01:05:48,120
where the engineering teams
976
01:05:48,120 --> 01:05:50,760
look at the data from the
helicopter, and see what it did.
977
01:05:50,760 --> 01:05:53,800
And they've allowed us... It wasn't
clear they were going to do this,
978
01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:56,960
but they've allowed us to go
into the meeting and watch
979
01:05:56,960 --> 01:06:01,520
as they review the engineering data
from the flight.
980
01:06:08,760 --> 01:06:12,040
This is a make or break
flight for Ingenuity.
981
01:06:14,680 --> 01:06:18,000
Rather than taking the long
way round to the delta,
982
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:20,280
it's going to attempt to take
a short cut
983
01:06:20,280 --> 01:06:22,800
across the treacherous
Seitah sand dunes.
984
01:06:24,480 --> 01:06:27,080
But the helicopter relies
on Perseverance
985
01:06:27,080 --> 01:06:29,480
for its communication with Earth.
986
01:06:29,480 --> 01:06:32,360
And this journey will take
the vehicles further apart
987
01:06:32,360 --> 01:06:33,720
than ever before.
988
01:06:33,720 --> 01:06:37,920
So a safe landing in a spot
where it can maintain radio contact
989
01:06:37,920 --> 01:06:40,160
with the rover will be crucial.
990
01:06:56,920 --> 01:06:59,560
As the team go
through the flight data,
991
01:06:59,560 --> 01:07:02,200
there's a nervous wait.
992
01:07:24,040 --> 01:07:28,080
These are the pictures Ingenuity
took during the flight.
993
01:07:29,040 --> 01:07:30,560
As it looks down at its shadow,
994
01:07:30,560 --> 01:07:34,440
we can track its path as it rises
ten metres into the air,
995
01:07:34,440 --> 01:07:38,320
then traverses the 370 metres
to its new landing spot...
996
01:07:41,000 --> 01:07:43,960
..from where it should be able
to stay in communication
997
01:07:43,960 --> 01:07:46,920
with Perseverance
as it drives to the delta.
998
01:07:59,840 --> 01:08:02,280
That's really interesting,
999
01:08:02,280 --> 01:08:06,080
and what really strikes me is that
1000
01:08:06,080 --> 01:08:10,520
this helicopter was not
really designed to last this long.
1001
01:08:10,520 --> 01:08:13,200
They thought it would maybe fly
four or five times.
1002
01:08:13,200 --> 01:08:15,960
It's now had its 21st
flight, and it's all working
1003
01:08:15,960 --> 01:08:17,840
and it's recharging properly.
1004
01:08:17,840 --> 01:08:21,080
So it's a, you know, it's a
tremendous engineering achievement.
1005
01:08:22,160 --> 01:08:25,320
Remember you're flying a little
helicopter autonomously
1006
01:08:25,320 --> 01:08:27,640
on the surface of another planet.
1007
01:08:27,640 --> 01:08:30,360
Nobody's flying it,
it's flying itself.
1008
01:08:37,840 --> 01:08:40,480
If you told the 12-year-old me
1009
01:08:40,480 --> 01:08:42,320
who first wrote to JPL
1010
01:08:42,320 --> 01:08:44,120
that one day I'd be here
1011
01:08:44,120 --> 01:08:48,960
seeing a helicopter fly on Mars,
I wouldn't have believed it.
1012
01:08:50,480 --> 01:08:54,960
But Ingenuity is just one of many
reminders of how far our
1013
01:08:54,960 --> 01:08:56,720
technology has advanced.
1014
01:09:00,720 --> 01:09:05,120
This is a piece of history
because this is the first picture
1015
01:09:05,120 --> 01:09:08,400
ever returned of the surface
of Mars by spacecraft.
1016
01:09:08,400 --> 01:09:10,880
It's Mariner 4, 1965.
1017
01:09:10,880 --> 01:09:14,600
And you might see actually,
it's kind of a fuzzy picture.
1018
01:09:14,600 --> 01:09:16,680
It's actually hand-drawn.
1019
01:09:16,680 --> 01:09:21,000
These are strips of tape that came
out of the printer with numbers
1020
01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:24,320
printed on, which are the data
from the cameras on Mariner 4,
1021
01:09:24,320 --> 01:09:26,360
and they correspond to colours.
1022
01:09:26,360 --> 01:09:28,040
And the data link was so slow
1023
01:09:28,040 --> 01:09:30,480
that the engineers and,
in particular,
1024
01:09:30,480 --> 01:09:32,720
one engineer called Richard Grumm,
1025
01:09:32,720 --> 01:09:34,360
got so bored with waiting
1026
01:09:34,360 --> 01:09:37,000
that he went to an art shop
in Pasadena,
1027
01:09:37,000 --> 01:09:38,640
bought these crayons,
1028
01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:42,720
these are the real ones, in this
box, and then sat there colouring
1029
01:09:42,720 --> 01:09:45,960
it in so he could see the image
from Mariner.
1030
01:09:51,760 --> 01:09:54,720
Compare that to the high resolution
images that we're getting
1031
01:09:54,720 --> 01:09:56,400
back from Perseverance.
1032
01:09:57,600 --> 01:09:58,640
Yeah.
1033
01:09:58,640 --> 01:10:00,880
There's technology marching on.
1034
01:10:31,000 --> 01:10:32,120
Day six begins.
1035
01:10:34,720 --> 01:10:39,440
And once again, we're waiting
to hear from Perseverance.
1036
01:10:39,440 --> 01:10:43,240
Overnight, it should have received
the instructions for the delayed
1037
01:10:43,240 --> 01:10:46,000
second half of its two-day drive.
1038
01:10:50,240 --> 01:10:53,680
And the incoming data reveals
an astonishing day
1039
01:10:53,680 --> 01:10:55,120
of auto nav driving.
1040
01:10:57,160 --> 01:11:02,040
Perseverance has recorded the second
furthest distance any Martian rover
1041
01:11:02,040 --> 01:11:04,720
has ever travelled in a single day.
1042
01:11:04,720 --> 01:11:08,720
297 metres and 60 centimetres.
1043
01:11:11,120 --> 01:11:15,160
So far this week, the rover
has covered over 760 metres.
1044
01:11:16,200 --> 01:11:21,120
But with only one day to go in our
time at JPL, La Orotava crater
1045
01:11:21,120 --> 01:11:23,840
is still nearly half
a kilometre away.
1046
01:11:27,640 --> 01:11:31,960
It will take a Herculean effort
to reach there tomorrow.
1047
01:11:31,960 --> 01:11:34,720
And while Vandi and the rover
driving team build the plan
1048
01:11:34,720 --> 01:11:35,840
for that drive...
1049
01:11:39,960 --> 01:11:43,320
..I have another appointment
with Optimism in the Mars yard.
1050
01:11:50,000 --> 01:11:52,720
Today, the engineering team
are running tests on what may
1051
01:11:52,720 --> 01:11:56,440
be the most important and ambitious
system on the rover.
1052
01:11:58,800 --> 01:12:00,880
Starting move to contact.
1053
01:12:02,640 --> 01:12:06,120
All right, Greta, you can kick
off coring.
1054
01:12:06,120 --> 01:12:08,080
All right. Yep.
1055
01:12:08,080 --> 01:12:10,000
Sending coring in three, two, one.
1056
01:12:20,520 --> 01:12:23,200
Perseverance, as you can see
and hear,
1057
01:12:23,200 --> 01:12:25,160
is equipped with a drill.
1058
01:12:25,160 --> 01:12:26,600
And drills are always noisy.
1059
01:12:26,600 --> 01:12:29,440
Be less noisy on Mars, by the way,
because of the much
1060
01:12:29,440 --> 01:12:31,040
less dense atmosphere.
1061
01:12:34,240 --> 01:12:36,440
We're at a depth of 3.9mm
1062
01:12:36,440 --> 01:12:38,960
out of our target five millimetres.
Thanks, Greta.
1063
01:12:43,040 --> 01:12:47,640
On Mars, Perseverance uses exactly
the same system to collect cylinders
1064
01:12:47,640 --> 01:12:52,240
of rock that may contain key
evidence for the existence of life.
1065
01:12:53,960 --> 01:12:58,240
So far, it's collected and stored
eight samples, with room for 30
1066
01:12:58,240 --> 01:12:59,920
more when it reaches the delta.
1067
01:13:02,960 --> 01:13:07,160
And the reason that this process
is so important is that, one day,
1068
01:13:07,160 --> 01:13:10,760
these samples will hopefully
be brought back to Earth.
1069
01:13:15,160 --> 01:13:18,560
Mini Wadhwa is the science lead
for the mission that will return
1070
01:13:18,560 --> 01:13:20,960
the Martian rocks to this planet.
1071
01:13:22,280 --> 01:13:25,520
Why is it so important to bring
the samples back to Earth?
1072
01:13:25,520 --> 01:13:28,080
Because I suppose, naively,
"We've got
1073
01:13:28,080 --> 01:13:29,920
"this tremendously sophisticated
robot.
1074
01:13:29,920 --> 01:13:31,200
"It's got the samples.
1075
01:13:31,200 --> 01:13:34,600
"Why doesn't it just look
for signs of life itself?"
1076
01:13:34,600 --> 01:13:36,680
This is an incredible machine.
1077
01:13:36,680 --> 01:13:40,920
But the kinds of analyses
that we want to be able to do
1078
01:13:40,920 --> 01:13:44,480
with the samples is going to require
really the best and most
1079
01:13:44,480 --> 01:13:45,920
sophisticated instrumentation
1080
01:13:45,920 --> 01:13:47,560
that you have available on the
Earth.
1081
01:13:47,560 --> 01:13:51,440
And it's just not possible
on a small rover like that.
1082
01:13:51,440 --> 01:13:56,120
The other factor is that we want
to be able to reproduce results.
1083
01:13:56,120 --> 01:13:58,360
I mean, can you imagine
what it would be like if somebody
1084
01:13:58,360 --> 01:14:02,760
actually found evidence
of past life in these samples?
1085
01:14:02,760 --> 01:14:04,760
We'd want to verify those results,
1086
01:14:04,760 --> 01:14:06,360
and we'd want to verify them
1087
01:14:06,360 --> 01:14:07,920
in independent laboratories.
1088
01:14:07,920 --> 01:14:11,880
That's not something you can do
with a remote laboratory on Mars.
1089
01:14:11,880 --> 01:14:15,480
You've got to bring them back
here, so that the best scientists
1090
01:14:15,480 --> 01:14:18,680
and the best labs can
really have at it.
1091
01:14:18,680 --> 01:14:21,880
Yeah, I suppose it is an example
of extraordinary claims
1092
01:14:21,880 --> 01:14:25,120
require extraordinary evidence,
isn't? Exactly.
1093
01:14:27,800 --> 01:14:32,280
Bringing the samples back to Earth
will not be a trivial task.
1094
01:14:35,320 --> 01:14:38,320
To do it, engineers have designed a
mission
1095
01:14:38,320 --> 01:14:40,640
unlike anything I've ever seen.
1096
01:14:40,640 --> 01:14:42,880
It's called Mars Sample Return.
1097
01:14:46,480 --> 01:14:49,400
The Mars Sample Return mission
sounds really simple
1098
01:14:49,400 --> 01:14:50,560
as a concept, right?
1099
01:14:50,560 --> 01:14:54,040
All you've got to do is get some
samples from the surface of Mars
1100
01:14:54,040 --> 01:14:55,480
and bring them back to Earth.
1101
01:14:55,480 --> 01:14:59,720
But actually, when you hear
the engineering solution,
1102
01:14:59,720 --> 01:15:02,440
how to do that, it sounds
fantastical.
1103
01:15:04,200 --> 01:15:06,440
So there are two missions
that fly to Mars.
1104
01:15:06,440 --> 01:15:09,880
One is the so-called fetch rover,
which is a little rover,
1105
01:15:09,880 --> 01:15:12,160
which is going to land
on the surface of Mars,
1106
01:15:12,160 --> 01:15:14,880
and it's going to drive
around and it's going to pick
1107
01:15:14,880 --> 01:15:18,200
up the samples, bring them
back to an ascent vehicle,
1108
01:15:18,200 --> 01:15:20,960
which is the thing that's going
to launch those samples into orbit.
1109
01:15:23,800 --> 01:15:26,520
And then the sample thing
itself detaches away.
1110
01:15:26,520 --> 01:15:29,560
And it's only about a basketball
size, maybe a bit bigger.
1111
01:15:29,560 --> 01:15:33,160
And then another mission comes
from Earth, and it has to locate
1112
01:15:33,160 --> 01:15:36,960
this thing that's in orbit somewhere
around Mars, and then it has to kind
1113
01:15:36,960 --> 01:15:39,280
of go and grab it in space.
1114
01:15:39,280 --> 01:15:42,200
And then when it gets to Earth,
it'll detach,
1115
01:15:42,200 --> 01:15:45,440
with this precious cargo in it, will
enter the Earth's atmosphere.
1116
01:15:45,440 --> 01:15:47,320
No rockets, no parachutes.
1117
01:15:48,400 --> 01:15:52,400
It will just impact into the sand
somewhere in Utah.
1118
01:15:52,400 --> 01:15:56,000
And then they'll go and find it
and bring it back into laboratories.
1119
01:15:56,000 --> 01:16:00,200
And that, believe it or not,
is the simplest and safest
1120
01:16:00,200 --> 01:16:04,840
engineering solution to bringing
something about that big, filled
1121
01:16:04,840 --> 01:16:07,520
with samples from Mars,
back to Earth.
1122
01:16:16,680 --> 01:16:19,200
Now, all that might sound
like science fiction, but actually
1123
01:16:19,200 --> 01:16:23,400
it's going to have to become science
fact pretty soon, because the first
1124
01:16:23,400 --> 01:16:27,240
bits of the sample return mission
is supposed to launch in 2026,
1125
01:16:27,240 --> 01:16:30,200
which is only, what, about four
years away.
1126
01:16:30,200 --> 01:16:31,760
They're preparing for it now.
1127
01:16:31,760 --> 01:16:35,200
In fact, up there - see that tower?
1128
01:16:35,200 --> 01:16:36,720
That's the test-bed
1129
01:16:36,720 --> 01:16:41,520
for the dropping the capsule
that returns those samples to Earth,
1130
01:16:41,520 --> 01:16:44,360
to see, when it hits the ground,
if it survives.
1131
01:16:44,360 --> 01:16:47,160
So it is not an exaggeration to say,
1132
01:16:47,160 --> 01:16:49,880
as I'm going to say it, that I think
1133
01:16:49,880 --> 01:16:53,680
the best engineers in the world
are working on this project.
1134
01:16:57,400 --> 01:17:00,520
Here at JPL,
development is well under way.
1135
01:17:01,840 --> 01:17:04,560
They're already testing the systems
that will launch the rocket
1136
01:17:04,560 --> 01:17:06,360
from the surface of Mars.
1137
01:17:09,680 --> 01:17:13,480
And the capsule that will crash
into the Utah desert.
1138
01:17:14,680 --> 01:17:18,000
If all goes to plan, the samples
collected on Mars could be returned
1139
01:17:18,000 --> 01:17:21,520
to Earth by as early as 2031.
1140
01:17:25,560 --> 01:17:27,920
It's undoubtedly a risky mission.
1141
01:17:30,600 --> 01:17:34,240
But there may also be risks
when the Martian rocks are safely
1142
01:17:34,240 --> 01:17:35,280
back on Earth.
1143
01:17:37,040 --> 01:17:41,360
And that's what I want to
investigate on my last day at JPL.
1144
01:17:59,720 --> 01:18:03,240
Bringing Martian samples back
to Earth is going to be vital
1145
01:18:03,240 --> 01:18:07,000
if we're ever going to prove that
there was life on Mars.
1146
01:18:09,640 --> 01:18:14,160
But there is an outside possibility
that those samples could also cause
1147
01:18:14,160 --> 01:18:16,200
a problem for life on Earth.
1148
01:18:17,600 --> 01:18:19,320
Welcome.
1149
01:18:19,320 --> 01:18:23,600
Oh, I mean, I've got to say,
there are badges of every mission
1150
01:18:23,600 --> 01:18:25,200
that I grew up with here.
1151
01:18:25,200 --> 01:18:26,720
So what's this room?
1152
01:18:26,720 --> 01:18:28,960
This is the spacecraft
assembly facility.
1153
01:18:28,960 --> 01:18:31,080
It's where all of the magic happens.
1154
01:18:31,080 --> 01:18:35,720
Every single spacecraft built at JPL
was assembled in this room.
1155
01:18:36,680 --> 01:18:40,440
Moogega Cooper is one of the people
whose job it is to make sure
1156
01:18:40,440 --> 01:18:42,400
that our planet stays safe.
1157
01:18:43,440 --> 01:18:45,680
So you have one of the best
job titles, I think,
1158
01:18:45,680 --> 01:18:49,480
which is Planetary Protection Lead
for Mars 2020.
1159
01:18:49,480 --> 01:18:51,840
So what is planetary protection?
1160
01:18:51,840 --> 01:18:53,960
Planetary protection is two-fold.
1161
01:18:53,960 --> 01:18:56,800
We have to make sure that,
as we send spacecraft
1162
01:18:56,800 --> 01:18:58,840
out into the solar system,
1163
01:18:58,840 --> 01:19:03,000
whether to planets, moons or
asteroids, we have to make sure
1164
01:19:03,000 --> 01:19:06,560
that we don't spread our
contaminants to those places
1165
01:19:06,560 --> 01:19:08,880
of interest, especially
if it could harbour life.
1166
01:19:08,880 --> 01:19:12,360
And the flip side,
if we were to bring samples back
1167
01:19:12,360 --> 01:19:15,040
to our own planet, we have to make
sure our planet is protected
1168
01:19:15,040 --> 01:19:18,080
from anything that might be harmful
out there.
1169
01:19:18,080 --> 01:19:21,720
So are we worried about microbes
from Mars? Yeah.
1170
01:19:21,720 --> 01:19:25,040
In fact, the assumption is to handle
it as if it's hazardous
1171
01:19:25,040 --> 01:19:26,560
until proven otherwise.
1172
01:19:26,560 --> 01:19:28,960
The level of precaution
that is going to be taken
1173
01:19:28,960 --> 01:19:32,400
with these samples is that
of a hazardous material.
1174
01:19:32,400 --> 01:19:34,840
So when we bring the samples back,
1175
01:19:34,840 --> 01:19:37,520
so we've heard this audacious idea -
1176
01:19:37,520 --> 01:19:40,200
I mean, Mars sample return
is terrifying, from an engineering
1177
01:19:40,200 --> 01:19:43,520
perspective - but essentially
you're going to crash it into Utah.
1178
01:19:43,520 --> 01:19:44,880
Right. A controlled crash.
1179
01:19:44,880 --> 01:19:46,520
I know that's not the language.
1180
01:19:46,520 --> 01:19:49,560
There's going to be a controlled
descent... There we go.
1181
01:19:49,560 --> 01:19:52,240
..without parachutes, into Utah.
1182
01:19:52,240 --> 01:19:54,680
So what is the procedure
from then on?
1183
01:19:54,680 --> 01:19:56,760
So you have this capsule,
sealed capsule...
1184
01:19:56,760 --> 01:19:59,000
Yeah. ..in the desert.
What happens to it?
1185
01:19:59,000 --> 01:20:03,240
The goal in general is to take
that capsule, bring it to a facility
1186
01:20:03,240 --> 01:20:07,040
that is unlike any facility
that exists today on our planet,
1187
01:20:07,040 --> 01:20:10,680
to safely contain anything
that might be in that sample
1188
01:20:10,680 --> 01:20:12,960
while we open it up, extract
the samples
1189
01:20:12,960 --> 01:20:15,240
and interrogate it scientifically.
1190
01:20:15,240 --> 01:20:17,240
So it will be a... It will be...
1191
01:20:17,240 --> 01:20:20,040
We will build a bio lab
like no other.
1192
01:20:20,040 --> 01:20:22,000
Exactly. Essentially. Yeah.
1193
01:20:25,160 --> 01:20:28,920
For the Martian samples, Nasa
is planning on creating the most
1194
01:20:28,920 --> 01:20:31,240
biosecure laboratory ever built.
1195
01:20:32,920 --> 01:20:36,480
More secure than the labs
like these that handle lethal
1196
01:20:36,480 --> 01:20:38,880
diseases like Ebola and smallpox.
1197
01:20:41,520 --> 01:20:44,600
But while taking all possible
precautions is definitely the right
1198
01:20:44,600 --> 01:20:45,840
thing to do...
1199
01:20:47,800 --> 01:20:50,080
..it's probably
too late to protect us
1200
01:20:50,080 --> 01:20:51,720
from Martian contamination.
1201
01:20:53,120 --> 01:20:55,840
When we speak about planetary
protection, that sort of gives
1202
01:20:55,840 --> 01:20:59,040
the sense that Mars and Earth
are completely isolated
1203
01:20:59,040 --> 01:21:00,280
from each other.
1204
01:21:00,280 --> 01:21:04,080
But that's certainly not
the case because this
1205
01:21:04,080 --> 01:21:05,480
is a piece of Mars.
1206
01:21:06,480 --> 01:21:11,960
It's from a Martian meteorite
that fell in Nigeria in 1962.
1207
01:21:11,960 --> 01:21:16,120
Now, that raises an interesting
possibility, because if rocks
1208
01:21:16,120 --> 01:21:18,360
can be transferred from Mars
to Earth,
1209
01:21:18,360 --> 01:21:21,160
and actually about 500kg of Mars
1210
01:21:21,160 --> 01:21:24,320
floats down onto the Earth every
year,
1211
01:21:24,320 --> 01:21:27,080
then maybe so can life.
1212
01:21:29,800 --> 01:21:33,560
The idea that life could migrate
between the planets
1213
01:21:33,560 --> 01:21:35,920
may sound incredible.
1214
01:21:35,920 --> 01:21:39,520
But there are scientists who believe
it's possible that life
1215
01:21:39,520 --> 01:21:42,560
could have arisen on Earth
and been carried to Mars
1216
01:21:42,560 --> 01:21:43,680
on a meteorite.
1217
01:21:47,520 --> 01:21:52,720
And it's also possible that life
began on Mars and was transported
1218
01:21:52,720 --> 01:21:53,760
to the Earth.
1219
01:21:57,040 --> 01:21:59,480
Now, we don't know if that happened.
1220
01:22:01,080 --> 01:22:04,000
But a key step towards finding out
1221
01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:06,680
would be to find traces
of life on Mars.
1222
01:22:08,760 --> 01:22:13,600
And it certainly adds an extra
dimension to Perseverance's mission.
1223
01:22:21,400 --> 01:22:25,200
As our week at JPL comes
to a close, we get a final
1224
01:22:25,200 --> 01:22:27,000
update from Perseverance.
1225
01:22:30,360 --> 01:22:33,240
It's still trundling
towards La Orotava.
1226
01:22:34,600 --> 01:22:37,880
The telemetry showing
it's completed another
1227
01:22:37,880 --> 01:22:41,440
240 metres and 70 centimetres
of auto nav driving.
1228
01:22:43,680 --> 01:22:47,440
It's 200 metres short
of the crater.
1229
01:22:47,440 --> 01:22:51,040
But it's still been a remarkable
week.
1230
01:22:51,040 --> 01:22:53,680
So are you happy with the way
the rover's performed?
1231
01:22:53,680 --> 01:22:57,120
Because I know that this was a big
week for you, making this transition
1232
01:22:57,120 --> 01:23:00,720
from the first scientific
campaign to the long drive
1233
01:23:00,720 --> 01:23:01,840
around to the delta.
1234
01:23:01,840 --> 01:23:03,680
Yes, this was a big week
for the mission
1235
01:23:03,680 --> 01:23:04,800
and a major turning point.
1236
01:23:04,800 --> 01:23:07,320
We've been moving our way slowly
through the crater floor.
1237
01:23:07,320 --> 01:23:10,240
But now with this goal of getting
to the delta as quickly as possible,
1238
01:23:10,240 --> 01:23:14,160
we're really flexing the rover's
legs, so to speak, and trying
1239
01:23:14,160 --> 01:23:15,360
out a new mode of operation.
1240
01:23:15,360 --> 01:23:18,200
And that led to some unexpected
surprises for us.
1241
01:23:18,200 --> 01:23:20,240
Yeah, that's what I find
really interesting.
1242
01:23:20,240 --> 01:23:22,800
What I've learned is that, even
though you know this rover
1243
01:23:22,800 --> 01:23:27,240
well, now, the moment you ask
it to do something slightly
1244
01:23:27,240 --> 01:23:30,240
different, then you learn
a lot more about the rover.
1245
01:23:30,240 --> 01:23:33,080
But the way it behaves on Mars
and that terrain
1246
01:23:33,080 --> 01:23:34,760
can always surprise us.
1247
01:23:38,680 --> 01:23:43,160
This is the rover's eye view
of the journey it's made this week.
1248
01:23:43,160 --> 01:23:47,040
Even with the hiccups, the drill
stuck in a rock, and the day lost
1249
01:23:47,040 --> 01:23:48,600
to a software error,
1250
01:23:48,600 --> 01:23:52,600
Perseverance has still covered
over a kilometre.
1251
01:23:52,600 --> 01:23:58,000
At 1003 metres, it's the furthest
any planetary rover has ever
1252
01:23:58,000 --> 01:24:00,880
travelled in such a short
space of time.
1253
01:24:10,040 --> 01:24:12,800
JPL's motto is Dare Mighty Things.
1254
01:24:14,520 --> 01:24:18,600
And after spending a week watching
Perseverance drive over the surface
1255
01:24:18,600 --> 01:24:20,880
of Mars in search of alien life,
1256
01:24:20,880 --> 01:24:24,680
my overriding impression is that
that is entirely appropriate.
1257
01:24:24,680 --> 01:24:28,120
The sheer engineering excellence,
1258
01:24:28,120 --> 01:24:29,920
the attention to detail,
1259
01:24:29,920 --> 01:24:35,000
the teamwork required to do that
is nothing short of astounding.
1260
01:24:35,000 --> 01:24:40,320
It turns out that, if we try to
answer the most profound questions,
1261
01:24:40,320 --> 01:24:43,320
to acquire new knowledge
about the universe, not
1262
01:24:43,320 --> 01:24:48,000
because it's useful in some sense,
but just because we want to know,
1263
01:24:48,000 --> 01:24:49,880
brings out the best in us.
1264
01:25:00,120 --> 01:25:02,520
But the end of our week at JPL
1265
01:25:02,520 --> 01:25:04,560
is not the end of the story.
1266
01:25:06,720 --> 01:25:10,120
Several weeks later,
Ingenuity is still flying.
1267
01:25:11,600 --> 01:25:14,440
It's now clocked up almost an hour
of flight time,
1268
01:25:14,440 --> 01:25:18,360
and is still sending
back remarkable aerial photographs,
1269
01:25:18,360 --> 01:25:20,320
including these images
1270
01:25:20,320 --> 01:25:22,200
of the mission's parachute
1271
01:25:22,200 --> 01:25:23,920
and protective back shell,
1272
01:25:23,920 --> 01:25:27,120
that were last seen as they were
jettisoned on the descent
1273
01:25:27,120 --> 01:25:28,920
on to the Martian surface.
1274
01:25:30,760 --> 01:25:34,480
Ingenuity made it to the delta
in another seven hops
1275
01:25:34,480 --> 01:25:36,360
across the Seitah sand dunes.
1276
01:25:39,320 --> 01:25:41,640
And the rover kept on driving.
1277
01:25:44,040 --> 01:25:48,880
Covering the remaining 4km in just
31 days,
1278
01:25:48,880 --> 01:25:53,200
capturing some truly wonderful
pictures, as it approached the steep
1279
01:25:53,200 --> 01:25:54,680
scarps of the Delta.
1280
01:25:56,800 --> 01:25:59,920
The rover and helicopter
are already investigating
1281
01:25:59,920 --> 01:26:01,960
the delta sedimentary rocks.
1282
01:26:04,000 --> 01:26:08,720
And have begun searching them
for the faint signs of ancient life.
1283
01:26:09,880 --> 01:26:12,000
Whatever Perseverance finds,
1284
01:26:12,000 --> 01:26:16,760
it will tell us something
important about ourselves.
1285
01:26:23,920 --> 01:26:26,520
I think there are three
possibilities for what Perseverance
1286
01:26:26,520 --> 01:26:28,800
might find on Mars.
1287
01:26:28,800 --> 01:26:32,760
One, which sounds like the most
disappointing possibility,
1288
01:26:32,760 --> 01:26:34,840
is it sees no sign of life at all.
1289
01:26:34,840 --> 01:26:38,800
If we establish that there was water
in Jezero Crater,
1290
01:26:38,800 --> 01:26:41,680
all the conditions
were right - geological activity,
1291
01:26:41,680 --> 01:26:43,240
all the right ingredients,
1292
01:26:43,240 --> 01:26:46,120
and yet, life did not begin.
1293
01:26:46,120 --> 01:26:49,880
Then that may be telling us
that we're alone, certainly
1294
01:26:49,880 --> 01:26:51,280
in our neighbourhood.
1295
01:26:51,280 --> 01:26:54,520
The second possibility
is that we find life.
1296
01:26:54,520 --> 01:26:58,480
But the life is very similar
to life here on Earth.
1297
01:26:58,480 --> 01:27:00,320
That would be... It would be
wonderful.
1298
01:27:00,320 --> 01:27:02,880
We'd know that there are two
planets in our solar system
1299
01:27:02,880 --> 01:27:04,280
that are living worlds.
1300
01:27:04,280 --> 01:27:07,440
But it might suggest that
there was only one genesis
1301
01:27:07,440 --> 01:27:08,840
in our solar system.
1302
01:27:08,840 --> 01:27:12,520
But we know that material
moves from Mars to Earth.
1303
01:27:12,520 --> 01:27:15,640
We have Martian meteorites
here, and from Earth to Mars.
1304
01:27:15,640 --> 01:27:20,320
And so, then, I suppose, the story
becomes, "Where did life begin?"
1305
01:27:20,320 --> 01:27:23,840
It is certainly possible that life
began on Mars,
1306
01:27:23,840 --> 01:27:27,160
and was transferred
here to Earth.
1307
01:27:27,160 --> 01:27:29,920
I suppose, in that sense,
we're Martians.
1308
01:27:29,920 --> 01:27:31,800
What a discovery that would be.
1309
01:27:33,560 --> 01:27:37,560
The third possibility is
that we find signs that life existed
1310
01:27:37,560 --> 01:27:40,560
on Mars, and that life is
very different to the life we see
1311
01:27:40,560 --> 01:27:42,920
here on Earth - has a different
biochemistry.
1312
01:27:42,920 --> 01:27:45,160
There was a different genesis.
1313
01:27:45,160 --> 01:27:47,440
That would mean that life began
1314
01:27:47,440 --> 01:27:51,120
separately in two places
in our solar system,
1315
01:27:51,120 --> 01:27:54,080
and that will tell us a tremendous
amount, because it will tell us
1316
01:27:54,080 --> 01:27:57,120
that we can assume that wherever
the conditions
1317
01:27:57,120 --> 01:27:59,840
are right, life begins.
1318
01:27:59,840 --> 01:28:02,560
That will be a profound discovery,
1319
01:28:02,560 --> 01:28:04,480
will change the way we think
1320
01:28:04,480 --> 01:28:05,800
of our universe,
1321
01:28:05,800 --> 01:28:10,160
because it will mean that we are in
a living universe.
1322
01:28:10,160 --> 01:28:12,520
It should change the way you look at
those points of light
1323
01:28:12,520 --> 01:28:13,720
in the sky.
1324
01:28:13,720 --> 01:28:16,360
Many of them, most of them
have planets around them.
1325
01:28:16,360 --> 01:28:19,880
And I think we'll be able to assume
that a good number of them
1326
01:28:19,880 --> 01:28:21,200
are living worlds.
108392
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