NASA Just Unveiled Its 2020 Mars Rover, And We’re Beyond Excited

The Mars 2020 rover, which sets off for the Red Planet next year, will not only search for traces of ancient life, but pave the way for future human missions, NASA scientists said Friday as they unveiled the vehicle.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/

Tau.Neutrino said:

NASA Just Unveiled Its 2020 Mars Rover, And We’re Beyond Excited

The Mars 2020 rover, which sets off for the Red Planet next year, will not only search for traces of ancient life, but pave the way for future human missions, NASA scientists said Friday as they unveiled the vehicle.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/

> Approximately the size of a car, the rover is equipped with six wheels like its predecessor Curiosity, allowing it to traverse rocky terrain. … Fuelled by a miniature nuclear reactor, Mars 2020 has seven-foot-long (two metre) articulated arms and a drill to crack open rock samples

That’s a good start.

> Among the devices on board the rover are 23 cameras

Isn’t 23 cameras a bit excessive?
I’d go for:

• 2 on a mast – panoramic 3-D view.
• camera on each arm for close-ups
• navigation cameras front and rear
• camera underneath for descent
• telephoto

But that’s still only 10 or so cameras. Why 23?

All around view to stop aliens from creeping up behind it?

mollwollfumble said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

NASA Just Unveiled Its 2020 Mars Rover, And We’re Beyond Excited

The Mars 2020 rover, which sets off for the Red Planet next year, will not only search for traces of ancient life, but pave the way for future human missions, NASA scientists said Friday as they unveiled the vehicle.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/

> Approximately the size of a car, the rover is equipped with six wheels like its predecessor Curiosity, allowing it to traverse rocky terrain. … Fuelled by a miniature nuclear reactor, Mars 2020 has seven-foot-long (two metre) articulated arms and a drill to crack open rock samples

That’s a good start.

> Among the devices on board the rover are 23 cameras

Isn’t 23 cameras a bit excessive?
I’d go for:

• 2 on a mast – panoramic 3-D view.
• camera on each arm for close-ups
• navigation cameras front and rear
• camera underneath for descent
• telephoto

But that’s still only 10 or so cameras. Why 23?

All around view to stop aliens from creeping up behind it?

The Cameras on the Mars 2020 Rover

Descent Imaging Cameras 9

Engineering Cameras 7

Science Cameras 7

Tau.Neutrino said:

Has a helicopter drone as well to take out ISIS/ISIL terrorists

Tau.Neutrino said:

Well they could ditch all those science cameras and let the engineers do the work for a start.