Is Humanity Ready For Mars? Scientists To Examine Spacesuit Material Swatches That Mimic An Eyeshadow Palette

Eyeshadow Palette Like Spacesuit Material Swatches: In a groundbreaking move, NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet since February 2021, has collected spacesuit material swatches that resemble an eyeshadow palette.

According to a publication released by NASA titled "How NASA’s Perseverance Is Helping Prepare Astronauts for Mars," scientists are now set to explore these fabric swatches to help prepare for human exploration of Mars.

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Fabrics were exposed in the Martian environment for four years

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), NASA explained that the fabrics had been exposed to the Martian environment for four years before the conclusion was reached.

The post reads, “This isn’t an eyeshadow palette – these are spacesuit material swatches on NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover. The fabrics were exposed to the Martian environment for four years, and now scientists will study them to help prepare for humans to explore the Red Planet."

How did the calibration target look four years ago?

In an interesting turn of events, one user asked how the palette looked four years ago, and NASA responded with a link to a picture describing the instrument, writing, “Here’s a picture of the calibration target with the samples before it went to Mars.”

“The calibration target for SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), an instrument on the end of the Perseverance Mars rover's 7-foot-long (3-meter-long) robotic arm, includes a geocaching target, spacesuit materials, and a slice of a Martian meteorite. Scientists rely on calibration targets to fine-tune instrument settings using materials with known properties,” states NASA.

“The bottom row of this target features spacesuit materials that scientists will observe to see how they react over time to the irradiated Martian atmosphere. The first sample at left is polycarbonate for use in a helmet visor; inscribed with the address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, it doubles as a geocache for the public. Other materials in the bottom row, from left: Vectran; Ortho-Fabric; Teflon; coated Teflon."

“Top row, from left: aluminum gallium nitride on sapphire; a quartz diffuser; a slice of Martian meteorite; a maze for testing laser intensity; a separate aluminum gallium nitride on sapphire with different properties.”