Perseverance rover’s first attempt to collect rock samples on Mars fails | science and planet

“Data sent back by NASA’s Perseverance rover after its first attempt to collect and store a rock sample on Mars indicates that no rocks were collected during take sampleswrite NASA.

According to the space agency, the drill and a special titanium tube for storing samples are working “as intended.” But after the completely independent compilation process, it seemed that no volume was stored. “The probe did not encounter the expected resistance that would have occurred if there was a sample in the tube,” NASA said.

The Perseverance team investigates what went wrong. Meanwhile, Perseverance continues to explore Jezero crater, according to NASA, while the team on Earth “evaluates activities.” The first impression, according to NASA, is that the rocky object did not react as the organization expected. It seems less likely that there is a hardware problem.

Perseverance scans Jezero crater on Mars for signs of past life and must collect rock and soil samples there. So the first attempt to do so was unsuccessful, but the rover has a total of 43 titanium tubes for soil samples. According to NASA’s plans, at least 20 of them should be filled with samples of Martian soil.

“Although this is not the wormhole we had hoped for, there are always risks involved in opening up new horizons,” wrote Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “I am confident we have the right team working on this and will continue to look for a solution to ensure future success.”

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