ASTRO 6500 - Seminar: Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover: Science Objectives and Instrument Descriptions

Fall. 2 credits. S/U grades only.

The institutions involved in this course include Cornell University, The California Institute of Technology, Western Washington University, Arizona State University, Purdue University, and University of Winnipeg, and the University of Copenhagen.

A. Hayes.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is currently en route to Mars and represents the first mission in the Mars Sample Return Campaign. Perseverance will land in Jezero Crater in February 2021 and, over the occurences of its 3-year primary mission, explore Jezero’s ancient lacustrine environment and determine the most scientifically compelling samples to cache and deposit on the Martian surface for future return to Earth. This multi-institutional seminar will review the capabilities and objectives of Perseverance’s science payload, with each meeting devoted to discussion of a single instrument. Institutions will take turns virtually hosting the discussion, with instructors leading the course every other week and students leading discussions in between.