Perseverance Rover Collects First Martian Rock Sample (video)

Martian Rock Sample

Martian Rock Sample

NASAโ€™s Perseverance rover completed the collection of the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil. Mission controllers at NASAโ€™s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received data that confirmed the historic milestone.

The core is now enclosed in an airtight titaniumย sample tube, making it available for retrieval in the future. Through the Mars Sample Return campaign, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are planning a series of future missions to return the roverโ€™s sample tubes to Earth for closer study. These samples would be the first set of scientifically identified and selected materials returned to our planet from another.

โ€œNASA has a history of setting ambitious goals and then accomplishing them, reflecting our nationโ€™s commitment to discovery and innovation,โ€ said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. โ€œThis is a momentous achievement and I canโ€™t wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team.โ€

Along with identifying and collecting samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) while searching for signs of ancient microscopic life, Perseveranceโ€™s mission includes studying the Jezero region to understand the geology and ancient habitability of the area, as well as to characterize the pastย climate.

โ€œFor all of NASA science, this is truly a historic moment,โ€ said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. โ€œJust as the Apollo Moon missions demonstrated the enduring scientific value of returning samples from other worlds for analysis here on our planet, we will be doing the same with the samples Perseverance collects as part of our Mars Sample Return program. Using the most sophisticated science instruments on Earth, we expect jaw-dropping discoveries across a broad set of science areas, including exploration into the question of whether life once existed on Mars.โ€

 

A key objective for Perseveranceโ€™s mission on Mars isย astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planetโ€™s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

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NASAโ€™s Perseverance Rover Collects First Mars Rock Sample

 

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