"The initial thinking is that the empty tube is more likely a result of the rock target not reacting the way we expected during coring, and less likely a hardware issue with the Sampling and Caching System," said Jennifer Trosper, project manager for Perseverance at JPL. The probe did not encounter the expected resistance that would be there if a sample were inside the tube."Įngineers plan to use a camera on the end of the rover's robot arm to capture close-up images of the bore hole to get a better idea of what might have happened. "One of the steps that occurs after placing a probe into the collection tube is to measure the volume of the sample. NASAs Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with several of the 10 sample tubes it deposited at a sample depot it is creating within an area of Jezero Crater nicknamed 'Three Forks.' The image was taken by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the end of the rovers robotic arm on. "The sampling process is autonomous from beginning to end," Jessica Samuels, the surface mission manager for Perseverance, said in NASA's statement. Telemetry shows the drill and bit, with a sample collection tube inside, were used as planned and the sample tube was processed. The rover's Sample and Caching System used a percussive drill on the end of its 7-foot-long robot arm to bore into a targeted rock. Perseverance was designed to collect dozens of samples over the course of its mission to help scientists characterize the Jezero Crater landing site where a 28-mile-lake once rose and fell and where the remnants of ancient organisms might have settled out and been preserved. "I'm confident we have the right team working this, and we will persevere toward a solution to ensure future success." Crushed rock surrounds a bore hole drilled by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover during its first attempt to collect a rock sample from the floor of Jezero Crater. The Red Planet rover snapped a portrait of the sample depot it has assembled with 10 backup sample tubes that could be returned to Earth by a future mission. The experiment kicked off more than two years ago, a few months after the rover landed on Mars. "There is always risk with breaking new ground," he said in a statement. The Perseverance Mars rover, making its first attempt to collect a rock sample from the floor of Jezero Crater, drilled into a targeted rock as planned Friday, but photos and telemetry indicate nothing was captured, possibly due to the nature of the targeted formation.Įngineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are reviewing data from the rover to figure out why the initial sample collection attempt was "not the 'hole-in-one' we hoped for," said NASA science chief Thomas Zurbuchen. Covering an area of about 1.5 square miles (4 square. The change will delay the arrival of samples here by two years, to no earlier than 2033. Bipartisan infrastructure bill passes a big hurdle in the Senate 01:28 In the coming days, the six-wheeled rover will head toward a location inside Mars’ Jezero Crater called the Cratered Floor Fractured Rough. The NASA-ESA campaign to haul Mars samples back to Earth will require two Red Planet landers instead of one.
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