'Humanity’s boldest search': NASA Mars Perseverance Rover drills first rock sample

In what NASA described as a phemenal accomplishment and 'humanity’s boldest search', Mars Perseverance Rover has mand to drill its first-ever cored rock sample from Martian surface. In biggest achievement yet in ‘Percy's' Mars mission, as NASA affectionally terms rover, latter mand to dig a rock core on 190th day from around a dried-out lakebed and secure it in a test tube completing a critical first step in a dece-long martian mission that’s searching for traces of human life form on Red planet.  

core of rock is slightly thicker than a pencil, NASA said in a release, although first ims beamed back to Earth are yet to be confirmed officially as poor lightening did t clearly project contents in tube. NASA blamed b lightening on position of sun. ncy, although confirmed via data it received late Sept. 1 from Perseverance rover that team has achieved its goal of successfully coring a Mars rock. 

But initial ims were downlinked, and ditional ims were taken after arm completed sample acquisition were inconclusive due to faulty sunlight conditions, NASA explained. “Perseverance mission team is confident that sample is in tube, ims in optimal lighting conditions will confirm its presence,” it said. 

[This im was taken by one of hazard cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover shows hole drilled in what rover’s science team calls a “paver rock” in preparation for mission’s first attempt to collect a sample from Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

“Perseverance will obtain ditional imry of sample tube before potentially completing process of collecting its first scientifically-selected Mars sample,” NASA informed in a release on Sept. 1, sharing iconic photos of drill hole from Perseverance's second sample-collection attempt, and test tube where Mars rock is preserved. 

Rock 'briefcase sized' extracted from a ridgeline

NASA Perseverance rover’s Sampling and Caching System deployed rotary-percussive drill as well as a hollow coring bit at end of its 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm to extract rare Martian sample. After maneuvering corer, Perseverance slightly opened end of sample tube to capture ims using Mastcam-Z instrument. “Target for sample collection attempt was a briefcase-size rock belonging to a ridgeline that is more than half a mile (900 meters) long and contains rock outcrops and boulders,” NASA informed.

After taking photos rover indulged in a procedure termed as “percuss to ingest,” which NASA describes as vibrating drill and tube for one second, at least five separate times to clear tube of any residual material that clings. ‘percuss-to-ingest’ procedure also slides down main content onto tube. NASA informed that sun's angle is essential to point-source  light that can saturate an im. 

[Tube number 266 that collected first Mars rock sample. Credit: NASA]

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on Sep.6 also demonstrated on camera sample tube number 266, which was used to collect first sample of Martian rock by NASA’s Perseverance rover. each of tubes is me of titanium, weighs less than 2 ounces (57 grams), and is less than 6 inches long.

“ project got its first cored rock under its belt, and that’s a phemenal accomplishment,” said Jennifer Trosper, project manr at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Sourn California. “ team determined a location and selected and cored a viable and scientifically valuable rock. We did what we came to do. We will work through this small hiccup with lighting conditions in ims and remain encourd that re is a sample in this tube,” she ded.