NASA on July 12 shared close-up images of a newly collected rock sample from Mars by the Perseverance rover.
Nearly a year and a half after landing in the Jezero Crater in February 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been tirelessly exploring the Red Planet in search of signs of ancient life. Recently, it successfully drilled and collected a new rock sample.
Perseverance rover drills the 10th rock sample on Mars. (Photo: NASA)
In a statement on July 12, NASA announced that this is the 10th rock sample collected by Perseverance. It is only the size of a pinky finger and will be stored inside a test tube located in the rover’s belly.
Perseverance carries 43 test tubes, 38 of which are designed to hold samples. The exploration device will use a small drill on its robotic arm to extract rock cores that promise to be rich in information about Mars. Since there is a limited number of tubes, NASA will carefully evaluate each location before drilling.
Recently, Perseverance has expanded its mission scope and begun searching for a suitable location for a future sample return mission. This location must not only be safe for landing but also provide an appropriate environment to establish the first launch pad on a non-Earth planet.
Simulation of the Mars Sample Return mission. (Photo: NASA)
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), is expected to take place in 2028. The plan includes sending three different vehicles to the surface of the Red Planet, including a sample collection robot, a Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL), and a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV).
First, the robot will collect rock samples from Perseverance and transfer them to the SRL. Then, the SRL will use its robotic arm to place the samples inside the MAV. This 10-meter tall launch vehicle will eventually ascend to Mars’ orbit, where it will be captured by an ESA spacecraft and returned to Earth.
