Last week, the perseverance train set off on one of its most important missions Since arriving on Mars: Collect the first fragment of the Martian rock. The mission failed, as the part in question disappeared without a trace. NASA is now investigating what went wrong.
By taking rock samples from Mars, NASA scientists hope for more Get to know the red planet. But before it can be analyzed on Earth, it must be collected on Mars. And NASA reported that the first attempt failed last Friday.
“This was not the result we expected, and there are always risks when we embark on unprecedented exploration,” Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s director of science, said in a statement Friday. “I believe we have the right team for the task and will persist in finding solutions to ensure future success.”
It took some time to analyze this failed attempt, but NASA scientists have found some elements. And they don’t bode well.
Nothing in the tube, nothing in the hole, nothing around
NASA used perseverance to snap pictures of where things went wrong in the last few days. A quick analysis revealed that the rover did as it was told, without making any mistakes. The robot dug a hole in the surface of Mars as it should.
Persevere at first using a sander to remove dust and dirt from the stone. Rover then extended his 2.5-meter-long arm, with the sample-collecting instrument at the end. This tool uses a percussion drill to create a hollow core in the rock, he wrote interested in trading.
Despite this seemingly perfect implementation, the sample tube remains empty. Most surprisingly, the rock collected from the crater did not appear to have fallen back into or beside the crater. The monster could not be seen anywhere.
“The first idea was that empty tubes were more likely because the rock didn’t respond as we expected during drilling, and less likely for hardware issues in the area. Sampling and buffering systemJennifer Trosper, director of the Persistence Project, said in a statement. “Over the next few days, the team will spend more time analyzing the data we have, as well as gathering additional diagnostic data to help understand the root cause of empty tubes.”
In total, Perseverance contains 43 tubes that must be filled with Martian rock. When the explorer finally collects the necessary monsters, another mission will capture the monsters and bring them back to Earth. Then NASA studied it.
These samples should provide valuable information about the chemical and mineral composition of rocks on the Red Planet. The goal is to find out if it is volcanic or sedimentary. They may also be able to provide clues about whether there is life on Mars.
(TB, kg)
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