JAKARTA – The United States Space Agency or NASA has just shown Mars rocks collected by the Perseverance rover robot. The rock was taken from the Jezero Crater, Mars.
Uploaded via the mission control Twitter account at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, USA. The rock is planned to be brought to Earth by another mission in 2030, for further investigation.
Citing NASA’s official statement on Wednesday, September 8, these samples will be the first batch of scientifically identified and selected materials returned to planet Earth from another planet.
This successful collection follows a failed attempt last month when drilled rock particles slipped from the collection tube because they were too powdery. After that, JPL sent a rover to look for new rock with a more stable structure that would increase the chances of getting samples.
Perseverance carried out the extraction process last week but JPL needs to carry out additional checks to ensure the collected material is completely sealed in the tube. The sample is described as being slightly thicker than a pencil and is now securely enclosed in an airtight titanium sample tube.
It’s official: I’ve now captured, sealed, and stored the first core sample ever drilled on another planet, in a quest to return samples to Earth. It’s the first in a one-of-a-kind Martian rock collection. #SamplingMars
Read more: https://t.co/bs4Hd4Fzyw pic.twitter.com/2jwF7cOcMZ
– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) September 6, 2021
The Jazero Perseverance Crater also identified and collected rock samples and regolith (crushed rock and dust) while looking for signs of ancient microscopic life. While studying the Jezero area to understand the geology and ancient habitability of the area, in order to characterize the past as to how the climate there.
“For all of NASA science, this is a truly historic moment. Just as the Apollo Moon missions demonstrated the enduring scientific value of returning samples from other worlds for analysis here on our planet, we will do the same with samples Perseverance collects as part of our Mars Sample Return program.” for science at NASA, Thomas Zurbuchen.
“Using the most advanced scientific instruments on Earth, we expect amazing discoveries in various fields of science, including the exploration of the question of whether there was ever life on Mars.”
Perseverance landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February after a six-month journey from Earth. Stunning footage shows the rover landing on the surface of Mars at the start of its mission. It also brought Ingenuity, a small drone-like device that broke the record for being the first plane to achieve controlled, powered flight on another planet.
For information, the next NASA mission in collaboration with ESA, will send a spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars exploration approach, which includes the Artemis mission to the Moon that will help prepare for the first human exploration mission to the Red Planet.
– .
