NASA Perseverance Rover Chokes While Getting New Rock Sample On Mars

After a Martian rock sample collected on Dec. 29 didn't transfer correctly into the rover's long-term storage, the Perseverance rover has hit a hitch. Before continuing with additional pieces, NASA is removing debris from the rover's equipment.

The problem occurred when the rover tried to transfer the rock sample from the end of the robotic arm that drilled it onto the carousel where the sample tubes were collected.

According to Engadget, the pebbles allegedly fell out of the sample tube, which prevented the coring bit from seating nicely in the carousel. NASA plans to bring the sample data to Earth in the coming years. Hence, experts heavily rely on storage.

Louise Jandura, head engineer for sampling and caching at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote this incident in a NASA blog post. Perseverance's sensors measure resistance when the coring bit containing the sample makes contact with the carousel for the first time. There was a more powerful drag than usual this time.

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Hits Snag

Perseverance Rover stalled when it experienced exceptional resistance while holding the sample. The debris is preventing the rover's robotic arm from correctly handing over the sample-filled tube for sealing and storage, as the rover team explained in a tweet on Friday.

According to Engadget, this incident exemplifies the mission's difficulties: even a simple action like storing a sample might go wrong under the wrong circumstances. Fixes aren't always clear or definite when Mars is so far away.

Perseverance is the first rover to try collecting Martian materials in sealed tubes. It's an important aspect of a project looking for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Perseverance can store samples even with debris in the path, according to Jandura. This $2.7 billion rover (per Planetary Society) is still relatively new on Mars and has lots more science to accomplish. Hence, the crew aims to remove the pebbles before carrying on with the mission.

Where The Sample Came From

The sample came from a rock outcrop named Issole. According to Gizmodo, this is a rock outcrop known for its vast, difficult-to-navigate sand dunes. The team expects to gather a pair of samples from the crater floor in Sétah, an area known for its giant, difficult-to-navigate dunes.

According to a NASA blog post from November, Sétah's rocks are of great scientific interest. Experts believe that the rocks of Sétah are likely the oldest rocks accessible in all of Jezero's crater. Hence, they need to evaluate the orientations in which the strata inclined. Hence, Sétah became the official geologic history and allowed experts to examine the full scope of geography change.

The rover will eventually reach the western rim of the Jezero Crater, which is thought to represent a dried-up river delta. The Perseverance team believes the crater is one of the best places to look for indications of ancient Martian life, based on microbial life fossils found on Earth.

Perseverance sent 43 sample tubes to Mars, seven of which were full. Although the first and second tubes were devoid of rock, the other tubes were effectively stored. NASA hopes to transport those rock samples back to Earth by the end of the decade, where they can be studied for years.

Of course, the rover must first overcome the recent sampling challenge. But there's a reason it's called Perseverance.

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