Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). In that case, a pair of Sample Recovery Helicopters would be called upon to pick up the sample tubes and deliver them to the lander.Ī key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The depot will serve as a backup if Perseverance can’t deliver its samples. Based on the architecture of the Mars Sample Return campaign, the rover would deliver samples to a robotic lander carrying a small rocket that would blast them off to space. The rover currently has all 18 samples taken so far in its belly, including one atmospheric sample. Perseverance has been taking duplicate samples from each rock target the mission selects. 21, 2022, the 653rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.įigure A is a close-up of the sample tube on the ground. NASA’s Perseverance rover deposited the first of several samples onto the Martian surface on Dec.
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