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RoboticsRobots on Mars and the Space Station
Twenty flashcards on NASA robots that already work off Earth: the Perseverance rover, the Ingenuity helicopter and Robonaut 2.
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20 cards
- When did NASA's Perseverance rover launch and land on Mars?
- It launched July 30, 2020 and landed Feb. 18, 2021.
- Where did Perseverance land?
- In Jezero Crater, 28 miles (45 kilometers) wide, once home to a lake and an ancient river delta.
- What off-world driving record did Perseverance set in October 2026?
- On Oct. 11 its odometer hit 28.10 miles (45.22 km), passing Opportunity's 28.06 miles (45.16 km).
- How long did that distance take compared with Opportunity?
- About 5½ years, versus almost 15 for Opportunity.
- Which Perseverance sample holds potential biosignatures?
- "Sapphire Canyon," from the rock "Cheyava Falls"; the results were published in Nature in September 2025.
- How many rock samples did Perseverance collect in its first five years?
- More than two dozen, geologically diverse.
- What did the MOXIE device on Perseverance prove?
- It made oxygen from the carbon dioxide in the Martian air, technology for future explorers.
- How long is Perseverance's robotic arm, and how many degrees of freedom does it have?
- 7 feet (2.1 meters) long, with five degrees of freedom: shoulder, elbow, wrist and turret joints.
- What does the turret at the end of the arm carry?
- The coring drill, science instruments and a color camera for close-ups and selfies.
- How many sample tubes wait to be filled in the rover's belly?
- 43, handled by a small interior robotic arm.
- What are Perseverance's wheels like?
- Six aluminum wheels, each with its own motor, 20.7 inches (52.6 cm) across, with 48 grousers for traction.
- How fast can Perseverance drive, and how much power does it use?
- Just under 0.1 mph (152 meters per hour) on flat ground, using less than 200 watts.
- How far can Perseverance tilt without tipping over?
- 45 degrees in any direction; drivers avoid tilts over 30 degrees.
- What is the rover's computer?
- Two identical Rover Compute Elements, so there is always a spare, with a RAD750 processor at up to 200 megahertz.
- What powers Perseverance?
- An MMRTG that turns the heat of plutonium-238 decay into about 110 watts at launch, with a 14-year lifetime.
- When did Ingenuity make the first powered flight on another planet?
- April 19, 2021, a moment called the "Wright Brothers moment."
- How many flights was Ingenuity planned for, and how many did it fly?
- No more than five test flights in 30 days; it completed 72 flights across nearly three years.
- What were Ingenuity's flight totals?
- 128.8 flying minutes, 10.5 miles (17.0 km) covered, and altitudes up to 78.7 feet (24.0 meters).
- What was the first humanoid robot in space?
- Robonaut 2 (R2), launched Feb. 24, 2011 on space shuttle Discovery (STS-133); built by NASA and General Motors.
- How strong are Robonaut 2's arms, and what was added in 2014?
- Each arm has 7 degrees of freedom and holds 20 pounds in any pose in Earth's gravity; two climbing legs came in 2014.
Official sources
NASA
Robonaut2
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