NASA’s Perseverance rover continues to explore the Jezero crater on Mars in search of evidence of the existence of ancient microbial life on this inhospitable planet. Perseverance is NASA’s most technologically advanced autonomous laboratory to date. The spacecraft arrived at the Red Planet in February 2021 and has since been tirelessly exploring the planet.
In its latest post, which was posted via the Twitter platform, Perseverance shared an image showing its latest highlight.
“I found this rock in an ancient riverbed here, near the Jezero crater,” the rover said, adding that it plans to take a rock sample and send it back to Earth as part of a future Mars Sample Return mission. This mission will allow scientists to study this sample in more detail in the future.
Check out these cool textures and green crystals! I grabbed a sample in this spot and am planning to seal it up and keep moving along. So many more places still to see! pic.twitter.com/JDo5EE8fuO
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) August 30, 2023
In another note, Perseverance showed a close–up of its exciting find, describing it as “a rock with cool and green textures,” and the latter may be olivine – a mineral that is usually found in the interior of planets, but it was probably pushed to the surface by ancient volcanic activity.
In conclusion, NASA’s rover published a photo of its current location along with the message: “I’ve had a great time here poking around the ancient riverbed. Gonna wrap up a few tasks and hit the road soon. What’s over this next rise? Let’s find out.”
I’ve had a great time here poking around the ancient riverbed. Gonna wrap up a few tasks and hit the road soon. What’s over this next rise? Let’s find out. pic.twitter.com/JQ5P8a1OTq
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) August 31, 2023
Perseverance does not travel alone on its mission. It has a companion in the form of a small Ingenuity helicopter. The spacecraft began its work as a technology demonstration, but it turned out to be so effective. Now it helps the Perseverance team by conducting reconnaissance of the complex Martian terrain from the air, which are used to plan safe and efficient routes for the rover.
NASA is so pleased with the success of these unmanned vehicles; Ingenuity has completed 56 flights to date, that NASA has decided to develop even more advanced versions for future missions on Mars and, possibly, on other planets.
Earlier we reported how the photos of Mars Express revealed the incredible vastness of the largest volcano in the Solar System.
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