NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Collects First Rock Sample On Red Planet

NASA's Perseverance Rover, which is meant to conduct experiments related to astrobiology on the Martian surface, has successfully captured, sealed and stored the first rock sample on the Red Planet

Perseverance's first cored Mars rock in sample tube | Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

New Delhi: NASA's Perseverance Rover, which landed at the Jezero Crater of Mars on February 18, 2021, has successfully collected the first sample of Martian Rock. The rock sample captured and stored by the rover has a thickness slightly greater than that of a pencil, NASA said. 

Data about the sample collection was received by mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, according to the space agency’s website.

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

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) September 6, 2021

How Was The Sample Collected?

On September 1, the rover's robotic arm drilled into the core of a flat, briefcase-sized Mars rock which has been given the nickname, Rochette. This is when the process of sample collection commenced.

Coring, which is a method of collecting rock samples for geological research, was performed by the robotic arm. After this, the arm carried out manoeuvring to enable the rover's Mastcam-Z camera instrument to capture images of the sample, before sealing it within a sample tube, made of titanium. Mission controllers sent a command to the rover to complete the task of processing the sample, after they confirmed the presence of the rock within the sample tube. 

At 10:04 am (IST) on Tuesday, the rover transferred the sample tube and other Martian cargo into its interior. Inside, the sample was measured and images were captured. The rover's Sampling and Caching System Camera (CacheCam) captured the image of the sample within the tube. Then, the container with the sample was hermetically sealed, and another image of the rock core was captured, before storing the airtight tube. 

Larry D. James, interim director of JPL, said that the Sampling and Caching System of Perseverance, which has more than 3,000 parts, is the most complex mechanism ever sent into space. He also said the sample collected with the help of this system marks the first step towards returning Martian samples to Earth. 

How Will The Martian Rock Sample Benefit Scientists?

The sealed rock sample, along with other samples collected in the future, will be sent back to Earth in order to study them closely. These missions are being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), as a part of their Mars Sample Return Campaign. 

These would mark the first scientifically identified and selected materials reaching Earth from another planet.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: "NASA has a history of setting ambitious goals and then accomplishing them, reflecting our nation’s commitment to discovery and innovation. This is a momentous achievement and I can’t wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team.”

According to Ken Farley of Caltech, a Perseverance Project scientist, the earliest chapters of the evolution of Mars can be known from the Martian samples that will be sent back to Earth. However, not all the stories of evolution will be told by sample tube 266, because a lot of the Jezero Crater remains to be explored, he added. 

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters in Washington, said that the successful collection of the first sample on Mars, by the rover, is a historic moment, and that NASA will use sophisticated science instruments to make discoveries, including whether life once existed on Mars. 

To-Do List For Perseverance Rover 

At present, Perseverance is exploring the boulders of "Artuby", a ridgeline with a length of more than 900 metres, according to NASA. This is the space agency’s first science campaign. Two geological units believed to harbour the deepest and earliest layers of exposed bedrock of the Jezero Crater are surrounded by Artuby. 

When the rover returns to its initial landing site, its first science campaign will be completed, and this will take hundreds of Martian days or sols, the NASA website states. The rover is expected to fill around 43 sample tubes within this period.

NASA's second science campaign is exploring the delta region of the Jezero Crater, which is the location where an ancient river might have come across a lake within the crater. Clay minerals are speculated to be found in abundance in the crater. Such minerals on Earth have fossilised signs of ancient microscopic life. 

Perseverance's mission is to study the crater to understand the geology and habitability of the region, search for signs of ancient microscopic life, and know about past climatic conditions on Mars.