NASA solved the mystery with a sample of Mars that Perseverance could not collect

About collecting samples for later missions Mars Sample Return a hollow drill is to be provided in the first place, in which the samples are to adhere, which will then be stored in similarly dimensioned boxes. But when Perseverance recently tried one of the samples obtained, while the drilling of the stone was successful, there was nothing left in the drill cavity that could be stored. This never happened during the tests, so at JPL they were understandably embarrassed and started to investigate what really happened. –

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drill on Perseverance for sampling

A layman would probably say that the drilled sample apparently disintegrated into dust, which sometimes simply spilled out of the cavities of the drill. The problem is that this sample seemed to be nowhere to be found, and at first glance it didn’t even stay in the drilled hole, so NASA decided to re-examine all the steps taken. It should also be noted that the collection and storage of samples takes place completely automatically according to a pre-learned procedure, so the operator can only watch how the rover copes with it, of course due to communication delays not completely live and up to date.

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Now he has NASA in its own words already an idea of ​​what really happened and why the Sample Caching System failed in this case. We learn that this is not even the result of an error or problem, but rather the composition and structure of the rock itself, into which Perseverance began to drill. And it is also confirmed that our lay estimate was basically correct. –

The image of the hole above shows that there is some material left underneath, and according to the most likely explanation and judging by the depth of the drilled hole, NASA has focused on a very incoherent rock sample. It thus disintegrated into fine dust or small fragments, which partly remained at the bottom of the hole and partly formed a high rim. It is because of it that the hole looks quite deep, although in reality it is not and is partially clogged with drilled dust. But perhaps it could also be said that a piece of specimen could actually remain in the drill for a while, so that during subsequent manipulation it slipped out and spilled somewhere where Perseverance’s eyes cannot see, but that is only our speculation.

The drilling rig behaved as expected, but NASA chose the wrong sample in this case. Perseverance will now move to the South Seitah area, where it expects sediments that should be collected much better than this rock, which apparently has a lava origin. However, another attempt to collect will take place sometime in early September.

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