An Mysterious Object Similar to a Thread Has Gotten Stuck in the Sampling System of Perseverance After the Robot Successfully Collected a New Rock Core.
A mysterious thread-like object stuck on the drill head of the Perseverance robot. (Photo: NASA)
Data sent back on August 5 confirmed that the Perseverance Mars rover has successfully drilled and stored its 12th rock core on the Red Planet. As part of the post-sampling processing, the SHERLOC WATSON camera located at the end of the robot’s arm took close-up images of several components of the system and detected a mysterious object.
Images captured on August 4 show a small, thread-like piece of debris lodged on the drill head of Perseverance. The research team is investigating whether the object originated from the robot or from an external source, such as the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) system that brought Perseverance to the Martian surface last year.
The Hazcam and Navcams tools will collect additional images of the area in front of Perseverance to see if any unusual objects can be spotted. The camera at the end of the robot’s arm will also rotate to capture images of the drill head from an angled perspective. Additional images and other diagnostic activities are necessary to further understand the nature of the object, NASA reported.
Since landing in the Jezero Crater on the Red Planet in February 2021, Perseverance has observed quite a few mysterious debris items while searching for signs of ancient life, including a tangle of thread-like materials resembling noodles, which is likely a piece of EDL that drifted to the robot’s working area from its original landing site 2 kilometers away.
Perseverance carries 43 test tubes, 38 of which are designed to hold samples. NASA’s exploration robot will use a small drill on its robotic arm to extract rock cores that promise to be rich in information about Mars. These cores are expected to be returned to Earth in a sample-return mission conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency, planned for 2028.
