NASA’s Mars Rover Parachute contained a hidden message and it has already been decoded

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Internet sleuths claim they decoded a hidden message on the parachute of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which landed on the surface of Mars last week. on Mars Jezero Crater at approximately 3:56 PM EST / 12:56 PM PST on Feb. 18, 2021. The onboard cameras captured exciting images of the rover’s arrival, descent and landing suite, including the deployment of a parachute with a pattern.

Check out the images from NASA’s Mars Perseverance mission in our video below:The blown parachute can be spotted around 0:15. The camera provides a full view of the parachute’s red and white design, with different lengths of colored columns presented in concentric rings. While many spectators walked to the landing itself, other eagle-eyed viewers paused the video to watch the frame and decipher the pattern.

Jalopnik overheard a tweet from @FrenchTech_paf showing that “Dare mighty things” was the secret message engraved on the parachute. “Dare to do mighty things” is the motto used by the Perseverance team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the research and development center that served as the headquarters for the Perseverance rover mission.

It also explained how the code was cracked. First, it was determined that the colored striping was likely binary code, with the red panels representing number one and the white panels representing zero. The numbers were then arranged in groups of ten, ring by ring, to create 10-bit patterns that could be equated to the alphabet by working in numerical order.

Fortunately, the MIT engineer became an Emmy-nominated TV presenter for science Emily Calandrelli shared a simplified analysis of how to decode the message on the parachute. Calandrelli posted the illuminating video shortly after @FrenchTech_paf shared its reveal, and it’s the best explanation you can find on the topic. So if you are interested in the details of crunching the number check that out:

NASA’s Perseverance’s Chief Engineer, Adam Steltzner, the message also confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday. He shared a helpful image to perfectly illustrate the code’s explanation, showing exactly how the wording appears on the parachute. “Looks like the internet cracked the code in about 6 hours!” he tweeted next to the image. “Oh internet, is there anything you can’t do?”

Perseverance launched on July 30, 2020 and landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. It is expected to remain on the planet for at least one Mars year, which is the equivalent of 687 Earth days.

The Perseverance rover’s mission is to look for signs of habitable conditions for life on Mars, as well as to look for signs of past microbial life. Not only is it equipped with a microphone to let NASA and the world know what it sounds like on Mars, but it is also equipped with a special drill that collects core samples from rocks and soil on the Red Planet, which will eventually be returned to Earth. .

Sights and Sounds of Mars from NASA’s Perseverance Rover

Adele Ankers is a freelance entertainment journalist. You can reach her via Twitter

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