(XINHUA) – LOS ANGELES, DEC 22 – NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft deposited a rock sample on Mars Wednesday, marking a historic first step in the agency’s campaign to return samples for the Red Planet.
NASA said the sample was placed in a titanium tube. Over the next two months, the spacecraft is expected to deposit 10 tubes at the site, building the first repository of human samples on another planet.
According to the Sample Return Campaign, the spacecraft will transfer samples to an automated landing mission which in turn will use a robotic arm to place the samples into a capsule aboard a small rocket that will be launched into Mars orbit, where another spacecraft will pick up the capsule and return it safely to Earth, according to NASA.
The warehouse will act as a backup in case the probe is unable to deliver its samples. In that case, two helicopters will be called to retrieve the samples and finish the job.
The Perseverance spacecraft launched from Florida on July 30, 2020 and landed safely on Mars in February 2021.
Astrobiology is a major focus of the Perseverance mission to Mars, including the search for possible signs of ancient microbial life.
