46

Danish researchers play key role in NASA mission to Mars

Danish researchers have contributed to the development of a new NASA rover heading to Mars, which aims to discover the potential for life on the Red Planet

Gulden Timur

So-called supercameras and an oxygen machine are among the Danish contributions to NASA’s Mars Exploration Programme, particularly a rover mission set to take off this week. 

The Mars Perseverance rover will launch from Earth on Thursday, with the mission aiming to answer questions about the potential for life on the Red Planet and search for signs of past microbial life.

The rover is scheduled to land on Mars on February 18, 2021.

Danish innovation is part of the mission as engineers and researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute and the Technical University of Denmark have been involved in creating high-tech equipment, DR reports.

Powerful cameras
With a total weight of over a tonne, Perseverance is the heaviest robot ever sent to Mars. It is almost three meters long, 2.7 meters wide and two meters high.

Niels Bohr Institute researchers have created a camera system called Mastcam-Z to find stones with potential signs of life. They have equipped the camera with a zoom function and technology to ensure that the white balance of the images is correct. 

“This is very important, as the lighting on Mars is reddish due to the dust in the air and can change from hour to hour and from day to day,” said Morten Bo Madsen, associate professor at the institute and one of the researchers involved in developing the camera.

Producing oxygen
As part of the the rover’s system, there is a SuperCam tool right above the Mastcam-Z. It incorporates a powerful laser that can shoot at rocks and a telescope that can pick up light from the small area that the laser hits when it shoots.

Its purpose is to make quick analyses of rocks and rock layers.

Perseverance also has a special oxygen machine called MOXIE. It resulted from the work of the Niels Bohr Institute and DTU Energy. 

The machine produces oxygen from carbon dioxide in Mars’ atmosphere by tearing the carbon dioxide molecules apart and putting their atoms together in a different way.

Used for fuel
The energy, like all other energy used on the rover, comes from a special generator in the tail of the vehicle.

MOXIE aims to pave the way for oxygen production on future Mars missions.

Most of the oxygen is to be used for the fuel that will bring astronauts from the surface of Mars and into orbit around the planet. 

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs