NASA Perseverance Rover collects first Martian rock sample
NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover has completed the first step in its decade-long mission to study the surface of Mars by collecting its very first piece of rock from the planet's surface.
The rock was collected from the Jezero Crater on September 6 - the 190th day of its mission, which began on February 18 - and was revealed to be slightly larger than a pencil, overcoming previous issues the rover had with collecting samples.
The sample is destined to be returned to Earth at some point in the future, but packaging and sending it home will be another ordeal in itself.
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Collection of the sample began on September 1 when the rover’s robotic arm drilled into a flat, briefcase-size Mars rock nicknamed “Rochette.”
After the coring, it manoeuvred itself so a camera unit attached to the rover could snap the rock as it was placed into a sample tube.
NASA is set to host a video conference on Friday (September 10) giving more details about this first phase of the mission and will discuss what the team learned about the rock, and the implications on future sample collections.
The sample is currently in an airtight titanium sample tube, with NASA planning future missions to retrieve it.
If successful, these samples would be the first set of scientifically identified and selected materials returned to our planet from another.
"NASA has a history of setting ambitious goals and then accomplishing them, reflecting our nation’s commitment to discovery and innovation,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
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“This is a momentous achievement and I can’t wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team," he added.
The rovers missions and sampling is twofold: the first is to search for signs of ancient microscopic life and the second involves studying the Jezero area for indicators on how the planet's climate has changed over time.
Thomas Zurbuchen, an associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington referred to this as a "historic" moment and compared the sampling to similar goals from the Apollo Moon missions.
"Using the most sophisticated science instruments on Earth, we expect jaw-dropping discoveries across a broad set of science areas, including exploration into the question of whether life once existed on Mars," he added.
NASA claims the sampling technology is currently the most complex mechanism sent into space containing nearly 3,000 parts.
The area of Jezera Crater where the rover is patrolling contains two ridgelines believed to contain the areas deepest and most exposed bedrock.
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Geologists at the agency hope these samples could tell them about some of the earliest chapters in Mars' history.
The rover's initial mission is expected to last hundreds of Martain says and will conclude when the rover returns to its landing site.
Following this, it will travel north and west, continuing to collect samples from other parts of the Jezero Crater region.
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