{"id":4861,"date":"2022-08-03T19:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T19:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=4861"},"modified":"2024-07-09T19:51:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T19:51:04","slug":"lasers-landscape-and-lost-magnetic-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/Q3\/lasers-landscape-and-lost-magnetic-fields","title":{"rendered":"Lasers, landscape and lost magnetic fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

The first letter ever etched on the Martian surface is the letter L. Far from being an act of interplanetary graffiti, though, it\u2019s there for scientific purposes. And it won\u2019t be there forever \u2013 scientists plan to bring the marked rock home someday to be studied in a laboratory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Roger Wiens, professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences in the College of Science<\/a> at Purdue University and an expert in Mars robotics technology, led the team that built SuperCam, one of Mars rover Perseverance\u2019s most innovative and effective tools. Recently, SuperCam used its laser to etch the first letter \u2013 L \u2013 on the Martian surface to learn more about Mars\u2019 lost magnetic field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHumanity has only ever had one planetary magnetic field to study as recorded in rocks \u2013 Earth\u2019s,\u201d Wiens said. \u201cBeing able to study Mars \u2013 which we think once had an Earth-like magnetic field and lost it \u2013 will increase our knowledge by a whole new planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists on the Perseverance rover team are collecting rock samples \u2013 drill cores in cylindrical tubes \u2013 to be returned to Earth by the next mission. But to understand Mars\u2019 magnetic field, they need to know how the sample was oriented when it was in the rock on Mars. The letter L is the easiest way \u2013 the way with the least number of strokes \u2013 to record how the rock was aligned on the planet. Scientists will compare the marking on the rock itself once it arrives on Earth with the marking as it was laid out in photos taken by the rover as it marked the rock. Comparing the rock sample\u2019s alignment with Mars\u2019 poles with qualities of the rock itself will give the researchers insight into the history of the planet\u2019s magnetic field, which is currently very weak compared to Earth\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t yet fully understand our own magnetic field on Earth \u2013 how it formed and how it changes,\u201d Wiens said. \u201cUnderstanding Mars\u2019 magnetic field might help us understand our own. A planet\u2019s magnetic field protects it from cosmic radiation. Mars\u2019 loss of its magnetic field contributed to the loss of its atmosphere and liquid surface water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today\u2019s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at\u00a0https:\/\/stories.purdue.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

\n Media contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Brittany Steff,\u00a0bsteff@purdue.edu<\/a>
Source:<\/strong>\u00a0Roger Wiens,\u00a0wiens@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The first letter ever etched on the Martian surface is the letter L. Far from being an act of interplanetary graffiti, though, it\u2019s there for scientific purposes. And it won\u2019t be there forever \u2013 scientists plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"department":[32],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[66],"coauthors":[10],"class_list":["post-4861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-excellence","department-science","source-purdue-news","purdue_today_topic-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4862,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions\/4862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}