The PERSEVERANCE rover made its first successful cut into a rock on Mars on Wednesday to collect a sample from Jezero Crater. “ These samples will not only allow us to understand the geology of the crater, but also minerals that are likely related to the history of water there ,” mission manager Justin Simon said.
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Initially, however, the rover had to collect a piece of rock into a container the size of a test tube. A first attempt in early August failed, as the first rock, nicknamed “Roubion”, simply shattered as the drill penetrated it, and none of those pieces reached the container.
However, Perseverance's second attempt, on a different rock, succeeded in extracting a sample.
The analysis of the new sample will naturally take some time, as NASA scientists were unable to obtain clear photographs due to low lighting conditions, a fact that makes the images difficult to interpret. Additionally, there is a possibility that the sample was ultimately not collected, which, however, is extremely unlikely to have happened.
The initial attempt to drill Perseverance was not an absolute failure, as it provided evidence suggesting that the rock had been eroded by a river that flowed into the lake basin billions of years ago.
Δεδομένου ότι ο βράχος ήταν πολύ σκονισμένος, οι επιστήμονες στη συνέχεια οδήγησαν το όχημα σε μια νέα περιοχή, αναζητώντας ένα διαφορετικό είδος βράχου για δειγματοληψία. Το Perseverance κινήθηκε ελαφρώς προς τα δυτικά, όπου σε μια ράχη οι ερευνητές βρήκαν έναν μεγαλύτερο βράχο που μοιάζει με ογκόλιθο, στον οποίο έδωσαν το παρατσούκλι «Rochette» και ο οποίος φαινόταν λιγότερο πιθανό να διαλυθεί όταν το rover θα έβαζε τα εργαλεία του σε αυτόν.
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Before each sampling attempt, Perseverance conducts reconnaissance by taking photographs of the candidate rock. Last weekend, it also conducted an abrasion test to see if Rochette was durable enough for sampling. The rover is equipped with a rotary percussive drill (with additional drill bits). The abrasion was spectacularly successful, so scientists decided to proceed with taking a sample.
Once the sample is confirmed, Perseverance will place it in its belly and continue the exploration. If everything goes according to plan, Perseverance will collect dozens of samples from the entire Jezero crater over the next two years and then store them for a future return mission to Earth. These samples will broaden scientists' understanding of the past of this neighboring planet, when it was likely less arid and more life‑friendly.
“Every rock we can get from Mars tells its own story. There are many stories to be told from the layers at the bottom of the crater,” Kirsten Siebach, a planetary geologist at Rice University in Houston, said earlier this week. The crater contains not only evidence of a lost lake, but also lava flows. Based on the minerals, many of the rocks appear to be volcanic, although scientists have not found clear signs of a fissure or volcano from which lava could have gushed or erupted billions of years ago.
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The rover has 43 sample tubes, most of which NASA scientists hope to fill. The spacecraft will then leave this collection of rocks in the crater and will wander onto other terrain.
For now, however, Perseverance is awaiting instructions from NASA scientists. The tireless rover will remain at this location for a few days until NASA is sure it has its first sample and is ready to proceed.
