Feest Isolation Days –22 February 2021
We have landed on Mars! When I say “we” I mean that the scientists and engineers in Cape Canaveral have successfully launched and landed a space craft on Mars. And I should add again. The first successful Mars landing was in 1976. The Russians sent a spacecraft prior to that, but sadly their rocket suffered a crash landing. There have been nearly fifty attempts since then to return to the red planet.
The distinct difference between the other landings and the latest is that, if all goes well, there will be a return to Earth in 2031 with soil samples. That will be the first time that samples from another planet will be returned. Ten years from now!
Last week’s rover spacecraft was called Perseverance or Percy for short. (If you Google Mars Perseverance I promise you a golden treat!) NASA put out a call to name the Rover and 28,000 American school kids sent in their ideas. There was then a judging panel and finally, 770,000 people from around the world voted on the semi finalists. Alex Mather, a fourteen year old, won the competition. Alex said, “I named the rover ‘Perseverance,’ and I hope that people in the future will look at this rover as a shining example of human perseverance for years to come.”
Alex Mather future Scientist!
The team from NASA made sure that the 155 semi finalists names and their accompanying essays made it to Mars as well. Their efforts were placed on a silicon chip and mounted on rover for the trip.
The team who involved with the Perseverance come from a varied background. They include engineers and scientists who are women and people of colour along with their many white male colleagues. The diversity of the group is inspiring.
You can meet the team here: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8662/meet-the-people-behind-nasas-perseverance-rover/
You might want to listen to Holst’s interpretation of Mars.
Then there are those who think perhaps we shouldn’t be going to Mars at all!
( There were other ruder signs too!)
Hearing from young Alex and his friends who are excited by the landing does make one feel like there is hope for the future. Very bright people will not stop doing the things that they need to do. Exploring and pushing further the frontiers of space or back here at home, medicine.
We will hear about the UK government’s plans for Unlocking later today. Thanks to the Scientists, life is about to improve on Earth! Well done teams!
Stay safe. Enjoy!
With love,
Kathy x