National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) latest mission to Mars, Perseverance Rover, has collected a third sample of rock from the planet. The news was shared by NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover on Twitter on Tuesday which read, “Another little piece of Mars to carry with me. My latest sample is from a rock loaded with the greenish mineral olivine, and there are several ideas among my science team about how it got there. Hypotheses are flying. Science rules.”
Another little piece of Mars to carry with me. My latest sample is from a rock loaded with the greenish mineral olivine, and there are several ideas among my science team about how it got there. Hypotheses are flying! Science rules. #SamplingMars https://t.co/L6lhCNdqWq pic.twitter.com/bFXxExhS1P
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) November 16, 2021
Perseverance shared three images along with the tweet, the first of which shared the picture of the greenish mineral olivine, while the following picture showed an area in front of the rover, this image was taken with the help of the onboard Front Right Hazard Avoidance Camera A. The last picture in the tweet showcased the surrounding terrain of the rover. The image of the rock was captured by Perseverance’s Sample Caching System Camera, which is also known as the CacheCam, is located inside the underbelly of the rover and looks down into the top of a sample tube to take close-up pictures of the sampled material.
The first collection of the rock sample from the red planet was made on September 1. According to Perseverance’s controlling team back on earth, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the rover unfurled its arm, placed a drill bit at the Martian surface, and drilled about two inches down to extract a rock core. The sample was then sealed in its tube.
According to JPL, NASA and the European Space Agency are working to retrieve the samples collected by the rover and bring them back to earth. The multi-mission campaign is called Mars Sample Return which is designed to retrieve the cores Perseverance will collect over the next several years. JPL mentioned that it is currently in the concept design and technology development phase, and will involve multiple spacecraft, and multiple launches, which will include several government agencies.
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