After a failed first attempt in early August, NASA confirmed that Perseverance rover has finally successfully collected and stored the first Martian rock sample during its exploration of Artuby. The sample was collected from an area believed to preserve the deepest and oldest layers of exposed rock in Jezero Crater.
See also: NASA's Perseverance collects second sample from Mars
The process of obtaining the rock sample, which is a little thicker than a pencil, began last Wednesday. That day, Perseverance used the rotating percussion drill on the end of its robotic arm to form a core in the rock, which NASA nicknamed “Rochette.”.
After it was finished, Perseverance snapped a photo of the contents of the unsealed tube so NASA could confirm it had collected the rock. Mission controllers confirmed that it had indeed received the desired sample and sent instructions to the rover to finish processing the sample.
This included measuring and imaging the rock core, hermetically sealing the tube, taking another photo of the sealed tube, and finally storing the tube.
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Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley said in a press release that taking the first rock sample from Mars is a huge milestone.
"When we get these samples back to Earth, they will tell us a lot about some of the early chapters in the evolution of Mars," Farley said.
This is just the first of many Martian rock samples NASA hopes to collect from Perseverance. The rover has taken more than 30 samples from Mars and could take up to eight during this first part of its mission, which will last for hundreds of Martian days. NASA is working with the European Space Agency on future missions to bring Perseverance's samples back to Earth for further study.
If this happens from the two space agencies, the samples will be the first to be brought to our planet from another.
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Once Perseverance completes the first leg of its mission, it will head to the Jezero Crater Delta region, which includes fan-shaped remains where an ancient river met a lake inside the crater. NASA believes the area is likely rich in clay minerals. Based on what we know from Earth, these minerals can preserve fossilized signs of microscopic life.
