Rosalind Evans
Witness Mars in real time!
The European Space Agency (ESA) is showcasing the first live stream straight from Mars on YouTube.
Approximately every 50 seconds, new images of the Martian landscape are projected to be revealed during the hour-long streaming session, as per ESA’s statement. Followers can access updates via ESA’s Twitter handle and the #MarsLIVE hashtag.
The images, shared on YouTube and ESA’s Twitter account under the #MarsLIVE, promise to present a previously unseen perspective of the planet, states ESA.
This event marks the 20th anniversary of the Mars Express orbiter’s launch, a mission initiated by ESA to create three-dimensional images of the Martian surface for a more comprehensive understanding of the planet.
“Typically, we’re looking at Mars images captured several days prior,” expressed James Godfrey, the spacecraft operations manager at ESA’s mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany. “I’m thrilled to witness Mars in its current state – as close to a Martian ‘now’ as we can realistically achieve!”
Images from Mars have been seen before, but a live stream is a first, according to the ESA.
Frequently, Mars data and observations are collected when the spacecraft cannot maintain direct contact with Earth; hence the images are stored until they can be relayed back, explained ESA.
The time taken for signals to travel from Mars to Earth can vary between 3 and 22 minutes, depending on their respective orbital positions around the Sun.
ESA approximated that it would require around 17 minutes for the light forming the images to journey directly from Mars to Earth and an additional minute to navigate the terrestrial wires and servers to initiate the live stream.
“Please be aware that this is our maiden attempt at such an endeavour, so exact transmission times on Earth may be slightly unpredictable,” ESA said.
According to Colin Wilson, a project scientist at ESA, no stars were visible in the image background due to Mars’ brightness. He noted that the planet appears even brighter when viewed up close, overshadowing the stars from this particular spacecraft’s imaging vantage point.
However, Wilson added that passengers on the Mars Express spacecraft would be privy to a much broader view of the cosmos. He highlighted that the spacecraft’s navigation heavily depends on its onboard map and the imaging of stars to position itself in space, much like ancient human navigation methods used for sea voyages.
At certain intervals, the transmissions from Mars were temporarily disrupted due to inclement weather experienced by a ground station near Madrid, as noted by ESA scientists.
This pioneering live stream from Mars by the European Space Agency marks an exciting new chapter in space exploration. The images offer an unfiltered, real-time glimpse of the Martian landscape, bringing the distant red planet closer to us than ever before. Despite the brief transmission interruptions, the event’s overall success sets the stage for more live streams, promising to give us even more insights into our mysterious neighbour. The cosmic curtain is being lifted, allowing humanity to marvel at the grandeur of the Martian terrain as it unfolds live before our eyes.
