NASA's Perseverance is experiencing a problem with one of its instruments. This could mean the spacecraft won't be able to hit rocks with lasers.
This issue concerns the Raman and Luminescence Scanning of Habitable Environments for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument, which is attached to the end of the spacecraft's robotic arm. The instrument is equipped with cameras, spectrometers and lasers to search for compounds that may suggest past microbial life.
However, one of the two covers that keep dust out of SHERLOC's optics recently started failing. On January 6, “the cover was in a position that prevented some operating modes from operating properly,” NASA said. A hint that there was a problem was revealed in the spacecraft's blog on January 25th. In it, the team noted that an issue with SHERLOC caused the robotic arm to retract, preventing the spacecraft from moving forward.
The robot arm was then put away, but the game was on to figure out what was wrong with Sherlock.
The cover was then partially opened. Teams on Earth are trying various manipulations to make the cover work as designed, including changing the amount of power delivered to the cover's motor. Currently, SHERLOC cannot use lasers on rock targets or collect spectroscopic data.
However, the Wide Angle Terrain Sensor for Operations and Engineering (WATSON) is operational. Although WATSON is part of the SHERLOC instrument, it operates through a separate aperture, so imaging microscopy can still be performed.
sherlock and watson. NASA, I see what you did there.
Even if engineers can't find a solution, some overlap with other instruments on the spacecraft means the science goals should be met. It's also worth remembering that Perseverance, which has spent more than 1,000 sols on Mars, is well past its original mission schedule.
Its sibling, the Curiosity Mars rover, is still plodding along after more than 11 years on the surface of the Red Planet. NASA engineers are great in this field.
Sherlock's problems were brought to attention around the same time that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter brought to the surface of Mars by Perseverance, suffered rotor damage during its final flight. Due to this damage, NASA decided it was time to retire the instrument rather than risk further exploration into Mars' thin atmosphere.
As is increasingly common with NASA's Mars missions, Ingenuity far exceeded all expectations leading up to its retirement.
If SHERLOC remains unavailable, the spacecraft has other instruments on board that can perform spectroscopic analysis. These are SuperCam and Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). ®
