The Robot Report

Perseverance Rover Cores First Rock on Mars

Organization: NASA/JPL
Country: USA
Website: www.jpl.nasa.gov
Year Founded: 1936
Number of Employees: 500+

Perseverance’s improved manipulation skills make coring intact rock samples possible.

Description:
RBRlogoPerseverance put its sampling and caching system to work on September 1, 2021, eight months into its exploration of Mars. The system uses a rotary-percussive drill and a hollow coring bit, with a sample tube sitting inside. The drill and bit sit at the end of its robotic arm, which it uses to extract samples. Perseverance then transferred the tube to its interior, measured and imaged the core, sealed the container and stored it.

Analysis:
Perseverance’s first successful coring was a crucial step in its already historic mission. The samples the rover takes from Mars will eventually be sent back to Earth to be studied, but acquiring them is anything but simple. 

NASA scientists spent days pouring over data from Perseverance’s previous attempt at coring a rock. Unlike the Curiosity Rover, Perseverance collects intact samples of rocks, which can give more insight into how areas on Mars were formed than rocks sitting on the surface. Perseverance’s improved manipulation skills make coring the unaltered rocks possible. Successfully coring rocks is a key part of Perseverance’s mission, and brings NASA a step closer to the long-term goal of bringing those samples back to Earth. - Brianna Wessling



 
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