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DARK SKY HAPPENINGS - July 2020

Moab UT (at City Hall)
38O34’ N Latitude
109O33’ W Longitude
4048 ft - 1234 m

A New Rover for the Planet of Robots
By Crystal White

Mars Perseverance Rover will soon join Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity Rovers as the newest member of the Rover family on Mars. The target launch date from Cape Canaveral

Sunrise-Sunset for July
(The time of sunrise and sunset assumes a flat horizon. Actual time may vary depending upon the landscape.)

DATE

SUNRISE

SUNSET

Wed, Jul 1

5:58:19 am

8:46:24 pm

Thu, Jul 2

5:58:50 am

8:46:15 pm

Fri, Jul 3

5:59:22 am

8:46:04 pm

Sat, Jul 4

5:59:56 am

8:45:51 pm

Sun, Jul 5

6:00:31 am

8:45:36 pm

Mon, Jul 6

6:01:07 am

8:45:19 pm

Tue, Jul 7

6:01:44 am

8:45:00 pm

Wed, Jul 8

6:02:22 am

8:44:40 pm

Thu, Jul 9

6:03:01 am

8:44:17 pm

Fri, Jul 10

6:03:41 am

8:43:53 pm

Sat, Jul 11

6:04:22 am

8:43:27 pm

Sun, Jul 12

6:05:04 am

8:42:59 pm

Mon, Jul 13

6:05:47 am

8:42:29 pm

Tue, Jul 14

6:06:31 am

8:41:57 pm

Wed, Jul 15

6:07:15 am

8:41:24 pm

Thu, Jul 16

6:08:00 am

8:40:48 pm

Fri, Jul 17

6:08:46 am

8:40:11 pm

Sat, Jul 18

6:09:33 am

8:39:32 pm

Sun, Jul 19

6:10:20 am

8:38:51 pm

Mon, Jul 20

6:11:08 am

8:38:09 pm

Tue, Jul 21

6:11:57 am

8:37:25 pm

Wed, Jul 22

6:12:46 am

8:36:39 pm

Thu, Jul 23

6:13:35 am

8:35:52 pm

Fri, Jul 24

6:14:25 am

8:35:02 pm

Sat, Jul 25

6:15:15 am

8:34:12 pm

Sun, Jul 26

6:16:06 am

8:33:19 pm

Mon, Jul 27

6:16:57 am

8:32:25 pm

Tue, Jul 28

6:17:49 am

8:31:30 pm

Wed, Jul 29

6:18:40 am

8:30:33 pm

Thu, Jul 30

6:19:33 am

8:29:34 pm

Fri, Jul 31

6:20:25 am

8:28:34 pm

for Perseverance is July 20th, 2020. What will Perseverance be up to during the mission? Let’s take a look.Jezero crater

In 2021, the newest Rover will land on the surface of Mars. Its primary mission is to answer the question, “Could there have been life on Mars in the past?”. Landing in the Jezero Crater, the Rover will be exploring the vast fan-delta within the Crater for evidence of sustained life and collect samples of rock and soil for a future return to Earth. Submerged in water, the Crater shows that some of the sediments found within have minerals indicating alteration by water. Finding complex carbon molecules would be an indicator that Mars once sustained life on its surface.

Mars Rover samplingPerseverance will also be completing some science monitoring to prepare for the arrival of humans on Mars. The Rover’s Moxi instrument will monitor wind and pressure found on Mars. It will also remove oxygen from the Martian atmosphere to see if this will be possible for future human inhabitants. Twenty-six cameras will document travel, sample collections, the Martian landscape, the Insight copter, and take selfies to monitor the Rover’s condition. Listening to the Martian soundscape through a microphone on the ground side of the Rover is also part of the mission.

Insight copterWhen exploring new terrain, taking a buddy along is good practice. Perseverance will have a small copter to work with, the Insight copter. Insight will be mostly autonomous, as will the Mars Rover. Insight will return to Perseverance to report findings and transfer data. This buddy system provides an opportunity to test out this new technology for future missions.

The new Mars Perseverance Rover is sure to surprise us all with sounds, images, and findings throughout its mission. Follow this mission at mars.nasa.gov/mars2020

The Moab Dark Skies was established by the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks in conjunction with the National Park Service and Utah State Parks Division of Natural Resources.


MOON HAPPENINGS
Jul 4 - Full Moon at 10:44 pm
Jul 27 - First Quarter at 6:32 am

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