To ensure the sample was collected safely, t he Perseverance mission team took additional photos before sealing and storing the rock sample into the tube. The rock is located in the Citadelle location within the Jezero Crater. On September 2, NASA released a statement and photos showing the Mars rover had drilled into a briefcase-sized Martian boulder named Rochette. Researchers suspect the rock sample may have crumbled to pieces during collection. But when NASA scientists analyzed the data from the drilling experiment, they found that the sample never made it into the titanium tube. The milestone comes after the rover appeared to have cored and collected a sample from the Jezero Crater’s floor on August 5.
“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 be doing the same with the samples Perseverance collects as part of our Mars Sample Return program.” “For all of NASA science, this is truly a historic moment,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a statement. A total of 30 Martian rock samples are planned for collection and may indicate whether the Red Planet ever hosted microbial life, CNN’s Ashley Strickland reports.
With a whirl of its drill, NASA’s Perseverance rover triumphantly collected its first rock sample from Mars on September 6, reports Maya Wei-Haas for National Geographic.
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