NASA is preparing for the Perseverance rover to collect its first Martian rock samples, paving the way for future missions to bring them back to Earth.
The six-wheeled rover is searching for an interesting scientific target located within the Jezero Crater, known as “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough”. This significant milestone is expected to begin within the next two weeks. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on February 18. NASA commenced the rover’s scientific mission phase on June 1, exploring a 4 km area at the crater’s base, which may contain the deepest and oldest bedrock of Jezero.
The geological area “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough” on Mars in a photo taken on July 8. (Photo: NASA).
“When Neil Armstrong collected the first sample from the tranquil sea 52 years ago, he began a process that would help rewrite humanity’s understanding of the Moon,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science. “I hope that the first sample from Jezero Crater collected by Perseverance will do the same for Mars. We are on the brink of a new era of planetary science and exploration.”
Armstrong took 3 minutes and 35 seconds to collect the first lunar sample. Perseverance will require about 11 days to complete its first sampling operation, as the rover must receive commands from hundreds of millions of kilometers away while relying on the most complex, versatile, and cleanest sample collection and storage system ever sent into space.
The sampling sequence begins when the rover places all necessary equipment within reach of its two-meter-long robotic arm. It will then conduct imaging surveys, allowing NASA’s science team to pinpoint the exact location for the first sample and another target site in the same area.
“To gather valuable data about the rock layers, we plan to sample by searching for two geologically similar sites and conducting detailed on-site analysis,” explained Vivian Sun, co-lead of the science campaign at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “There, we will first use an abrasion tool to scrape away the top layer of rock and dust, exposing an unweathered surface, then blast that area with a gas-powered dust removal tool, followed by using scientific instruments mounted on a small tower on the rover’s arm, including SHERLOC, PIXL, and WATSON.”
SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals), PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), and WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) will analyze the chemical and mineral composition of the target. Perseverance’s SuperCam and Mastcam-Z, both located on the rover’s mast, will also participate in the mission. While SuperCam fires a laser at the abrasive surface, measuring the dust plume and collecting other data, Mastcam-Z will capture high-resolution images. Together, these five instruments will allow for unprecedented geological material analysis in the area.
Perseverance will also activate its sample handling arm within the Adaptive Caching Assembly system, which will retrieve the sample tubes, heat them, and then insert them into a rotary drill. A device known as a conveyor will transport the tube to the rotary percussion drill on Perseverance’s robotic arm. This drill will penetrate the geologically similar rock layers and bury a small sample tube the size of a piece of chalk. After future missions bring the tubes back to Earth, the samples will be sent to a sterile lab for analysis using scientific equipment too large to send to Mars.
