By akademiotoelektronik, 03/06/2022

Maintenance. Noureddine Melikechi: "Don't buy a return Earth-Mars ticket"

Noureddine Melikechi, an Algerian physicist working at NASA, is participating in the Mars 2020 mission. In this interview, he explained in detail the contents of the mission, the possibility of sending humans to Mars, the benefits of sending rovers to this red planet, and the role Algeria can play in conquering space.

Can you describe the tasks in March 2020?

The scientific objectives of the March 2020 mission are: (1) Looking for signs of possible ancient life on Mars, (2) preparing interesting samples for analysis on Earth, (3) better understanding the potential of human habitation on Mars, and (4) preparing for future missions to Mars.

In order to complete its mission, the "Perseverance" rover, the celestial mobile vehicle for the March 2020 mission, is equipped with seven instruments. One of them will be used to prepare Mars samples for the next mission to return to Earth.

These particularly interesting samples were selected and put into super-sterile test tubes for in-depth analysis in land laboratories, using specific instruments not carried on Perseverance.

This rover will connect two space missions, the main purpose of which is to find the characteristics of life in alien environment.

Perseverance carries an instrument designed to use 96% of Mars' carbon dioxide atmosphere to study the possibility of producing oxygen.

This oxygen is critical to future needs, especially for potential human explorers, but also for the propulsion of spacecraft on the planet itself.

In addition to these aspects, perseverance has enabled several engineering disciplines to develop new technologies. Launching from Earth, going into space, communication, navigation and landing on the ground on Mars are all real feats.

Perseverance a également à son bord un petit hélicoptère, Ingenuity, dont les performances seront évaluées dans l’environnement martien. This helicopter will also help prepare for future human exploration of the earth.

Another important goal that is not immediately visible is to involve and participate in this project for future generations, that is, children.

Indeed, since preparations for the mission began in March 2020, long before the launch from Earth, several themes have been presented to children for discussion, reflection and dreams.

It is an opportunity for children to participate in and become interested in science and technology, enabling them to develop their imagination, their creativity and even their careers.

This is a very important investment, and it is also the capital to prepare for the future. These children will be engineers, scientists, innovators and/or managers of tomorrow.

"This is an opportunity to get kids involved and interested in science and technology."

What is the difference between this mission and previous missions on this red planet?

Since its establishment in 1958, NASA has been interested in space exploration beyond the moon. What is particularly interesting about Mars is that, among other things, it is possible to combine human exploration with robot-based exploration.

One of its purposes is to answer a basic question that human beings have been asking themselves since ancient times: Are we alone in the universe? Depuis lors, la Nasa a eu des missions sur Mars qui sont complémentaires les unes aux autres en commençant par le survol de la planète rouge dans les années 60 par Mariner, jusqu’à plus récemment l’atterrissage de Curiosity en 2012 et de Perseverance il y a de cela quelques jours.

As an example of complementarity, to repeat what I said in your first question, the aim of March 2020 is to find a microbial life form and gather information to prepare for the upcoming mission to Mars, including the human mission.

Curiosity's mission is still in progress, focusing on characterizing the Martian environment and finding life elements such as water.

Curiosity and Perseverance, two celestial vehicles, are located in two different locations, thousands of kilometers apart, and are selected according to their respective goals. These two scientific tasks complement each other.

March 2020 is considered a contribution to this fascinating scientific and technological adventure, and it is worth remembering that this is an opportunity to spawn cutting-edge technology, which is applied in many fields, not just space exploration.

One example is the development of navigation and robotics. All this will eventually enable us to increase our understanding of Mars, especially its surface composition and atmospheric environment, but it will also benefit many other areas of our life on Earth.

How does perseverance drive?

Perseverance is a rover designed to be highly autonomous. It carries a nuclear battery that powers it and two computers to operate and control the rover.

One of the computers controls some of the operations of the second computer, which remains on the "edge" and is only booted to replace the first if necessary.

All these are monitored and responsible by the Action Team. These actions include monitoring key parameters of the rover, modifying certain functions when necessary, and initiating communication with Earth infrastructure and space orbiters around Mars.

In addition, in March 2020, a team of scientists and engineers sent orders for the operation of various instruments aboard Perseverance according to a predetermined agreement.

Much of these commands depend on scientific experiments, which are planned and, of course, safe. Due to the need of power and bandwidth (communication), all instruments and functions of the rover are not activated at the same time. A team of engineers and scientists coordinated.

What is the cost of this mission? Who is funding it?

According to publicly released figures, NASA's budget for the March 2020 mission is about $2.8 billion, of which slightly less than 80% is used to develop the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter.

The rest of the budget is used for mission start-up and follow-up. Il serait naïf de voir cette mission uniquement sous l’angle du coût ; l’histoire du développement de certains pays montre que les retombées de la recherche scientifique et du développement technologique, notamment dans le domaine spatial, sont nombreuses, variées et positives.

Cette mission, tout comme celles qui l’ont précédée, produira des opportunités pour le développement de technologies et des innovations dans des domaines tels que la recherche de l’eau sur Terre, l’environnement, l’agriculture, la santé humaine et planétaire, la recherche et l’exploitation minière, les nouveaux matériaux, la navigation, les télécommunications et la sécurité informatique pour n’en citer que ceux-là.

What role did you play in this mission?

I am a physicist, and I am interested in the interaction between light and matter. In the past few years, I have been particularly interested in studying the spectral characteristics produced by these interactions, but in relatively complex environments, such as Mars or biomedical samples. Spectral characteristics, if I may say so, are fingerprints of matter. These environments are basically composed of atoms and ions, and of course there are more complex molecules. In order to better understand them, some of their research is carried out with technologies that touch the material basis, which is beneficial: Atoms. One of these techniques is used by an instrument on Curiosity called ChemCam. My role in the Curiosity mission is to help analyze the spectral characteristics obtained by the instrument. For the March 2020 mission, I worked with about 50 other researchers to help develop research plans for spectral analysis that will be obtained by new Chemcam-based instruments, I will contribute to the analysis of spectral data from perseverance, especially research Influence of distance variability between laser and Mars sample on measured spectrum and geochemical composition.

For my profile: https://mars.nasa.gov/people/profile/? ID = 23253

What role can private companies like SpaceX play in conquering Mars?

Private U.S. companies, such as SpaceX and others, have conducted space operations in Earth orbit. In my opinion, private space companies will be at the forefront of space projects, including Mars missions.

Non-American companies are likely to become part of this "competition". If this becomes a reality, humans, not just the West, will have more opportunities to influence thinking about the future of human space exploration, especially human presence on the moon or Mars-a word I prefer to "colonize".

"In a word, don't buy a return ticket from Earth to Mars, at least not immediately."

What are the risks of sending humans to Mars? Is it possible to send and return astronauts from Mars?

The risks are enormous, even enormous, because, among other things, radiation is much stronger than on Earth, extreme temperatures, human lack of oxygen and, of course, the risk of travel from Earth to Mars.

However, these risks also provide opportunities for the development of new technologies. As with any adventure, the most important thing is to be prepared.

Risks are identifiable and measurable in terms of probability and severity of occurrence. Below a certain threshold, risk-taking. Today, technology does not allow humans to return from Mars. One reason is the thin layer of Martian atmosphere.

There are some very important scientific and technological challenges that must be solved first. In other words, as far as I know, this possibility does not exist in the next few decades. In a word, don't buy a return ticket from Earth to Mars, at least not immediately.

Why explore an uninhabitable planet?

On this issue, almost everything is in the "priori". The fact that a view has been accepted by many people for a long time does not mean that it is true. We explore Mars precisely to learn more about this problem. When you use scientific methods to find answers to the right questions, this process usually leads to new discoveries, which in themselves can produce new technologies, which is why some countries choose to invest billions of dollars to explore Mars. These tasks have produced a great deal of knowledge "harvest", inspired their young people to discover, create and innovate, and created new prospects for the development of many technological fields, which can produce positive intellectual, social and economic contributions. Besides, I would say that when we set a goal, no matter how far away it may be, it is good to achieve it, but the road to it is just as interesting.

What do you think will happen first: Is it the first human to land on Mars or the return of humans to the moon, especially within the framework of the African Real-time Environmental Monitoring Information System programme?

NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man at the moon's south pole by 2024, let alone soon. The aim is to establish a permanent presence in the orbit and surface of the moon to facilitate presence on and around the moon.

Having said that, Mars is the next frontier for space explorers. However, before humans can settle there, there are many problems that need to be solved first.

In addition, there is the development of robotics, which makes the human presence on Mars less and less attractive, at least this is my opinion. So before we see humans on Mars, we are more likely to see humans on the moon. It is worth mentioning that in 2017, the Dubai government announced plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars within a century.

"Algeria can play a role in the space field"

The UAE was the first Arab country to send a probe to Mars. Can Algeria play a role in space conquest and how?

I had the privilege of visiting the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai and appreciating the excellent work done by UAE engineers. I take this opportunity to congratulate them on putting hope into orbit around Mars. This is a great success because it is not a trivial matter.

This technological feat has made the United Arab Emirates an actor in the conquest of space and will open up new scientific and technological opportunities for the country.

Moreover, like other countries' space missions, it is hoped that they will inspire generations and will have a positive impact on the country itself and potentially on the region.

I would also like to congratulate my Chinese colleagues for their excellent work. They successfully put the Tianmen-1 probe into orbit around Mars. I wish them great success in landing Tianmen-1 on Mars.

My country, for its part, has many assets and, in particular, abundant human capital in many fields, including space. I would like to congratulate the young people of the "ActinSpace-Algeria" group for their excellent work and thank them for inviting me to some of their activities.

My country has a role to play in the space field, and it has done so through the Algerian Space Agency. It goes without saying that all countries, including Algeria, do not have to have a Mars program to play a role in this field.

Space programmes may be more meaningful if they serve the economic, scientific and technological development of our country. For example, it can be used for agricultural development and land monitoring and protection.

As to how this can be achieved, we first need a vision, priorities and reliable and accurate data on our resources, especially human resources. An important factor in science and technology and many other fields is that today more than ever, it needs to be open to the world.

In fact, research shows that the more open a country is and participates in international affairs in terms of cooperation and the mobility of researchers, the greater the impact of its scientific and technological work on its society.

Technology transfer is often only a nominal transfer, but must be part of the team developing new technologies.