NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has officially dropped off its final sample tube at the depot, which will eventually be recovered by the future NASA / ESA Mars Sample Return campaign. These samples consist of rocks the mission team deems scientifically significant in the ‘Three Forks’ region of the Jezero Crater.
The igneous and sedimentary rock cores collected should provide a cross section of the geologic processes that took place in Jezero shortly after its formation nearly 4 billion years ago. An atmospheric sample was also deposited by Perseverance as well as a “witness” tube, which is utilized to determine if samples being collected might be contaminated with materials that traveled with the rover from Earth. These titanium sample tubes were placed on the surface in an intricate zigzag pattern, with each one about 15-50 feet apart from one another to ensure they could be safely recovered.
- COMPUTERIZED STAR LOCATING TELESCOPE: The Celestron NexStar 127SLT offers a database of more than 40,000 stars, galaxies, nebulae, and more. Simply...
- MAKSUTOV-CASSEGRAIN OPTICAL DESIGN: With a large, 127mm aperture, the NexStar 127SLT can gather enough light to see our Solar System and beyond. View...
- COMPACT AND PORTABLE: The ideal telescope for adults and kids to use together, the NexStar 127SLT is compact, lightweight, and portable. It's easy to...
With the Three Forks depot in our rearview mirror, Perseverance is now headed up the delta. We’ll make our ascent via the ‘Hawksbill Gap’ route we previously explored. Once we pass the geologic unit the science team calls ‘Rocky Top,’ we will be in new territory and begin exploring the Delta Top,” said Rick Welch, Perseverance’s deputy project manager at JPL.
