The Perseverance Rover captured images of the Martian landscape, showcasing the wheel tracks and a drill bit it left on the surface of the Red Planet last year.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover photographed its discarded drill bit on February 16. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)
NASA’s Perseverance Rover utilized the Mastcam-Z camera on its left side to take a special photograph on February 16, which was the 353rd Martian day of its mission (a Martian day is slightly longer than an Earth day). Mastcam-Z consists of a pair of cameras mounted on a tall mast of Perseverance.
In the image, in addition to the typical rocky and dusty Martian landscape, viewers can see the wheel tracks of Perseverance. Furthermore, a cylindrical artificial object also draws significant attention. This is actually a component that the rover discarded in July 2021.
This drill bit was attached before launch to seal the drill and protect the components inside, according to the Perseverance operations team. To effectively carry out its scientific mission, the rover left it behind before starting to collect samples with entirely new and pristine drill bits.
This is not the first piece of “debris” from Perseverance on Mars. In March 2021, it discarded a belly shield used to protect its sampling system during landing.
These items may one day become objects of interest for space archaeologists. The robots themselves will remain on Mars long after completing their missions, and the debris they leave along the way will serve as historical traces of their journey across the Red Planet.
Perseverance, along with the small helicopter Ingenuity, landed in the Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. After more than a year exploring Mars, the duo has achieved numerous milestones, including the first rock sample collection on another planet, the first extraction of oxygen from Martian air, and the first controlled flight on another planet.
