Now all attention is focused on the James Webb Telescope. Its first images surprised, amazed and dazzled. Among such grandiose events, it’s easy to forget that just a year and a half ago a rover the size of a car named Perseverance landed on Mars. Just recently, all the glory was devoted to this work. Since its arrival at the bottom of the ancient Martian Jezero crater, Perseverance has been roaming around, exploring the surface, drilling through rocks to get samples. As of July 6, nine such samples had been received.
On the same day that NASA shared photos from James Webb with the world, Perseverance collected the 10th rock sample from the surface of Mars. Moreover, the anniversary sample was shown in close-up, obtained immediately after mining.
As NASA notes in its message, the samples obtained are very thin, like a little finger. But in such a tiny volume, the most valuable information is stored. Scientists hope to study these samples in the coming decades when they are delivered to Earth by the next mission. Then, by analyzing their chemical composition, scientists will be able to detect signs of ancient life. In the meantime, this rock will be safely stored inside Perseverance.
Big day for space science! From grand telescope views that #UnfoldTheUniverse, to extreme closeups of #SamplingMars, with rock cores barely the size of a pinky finger. I’ve now collected my 10th rock sample, seen here in the late afternoon Martian sun. pic.twitter.com/uOq5nABY8W
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) July 13, 2022
Most interestingly, Perseverance is already looking for a suitable place for the upcoming landing of the spacecraft. The space Agency reports that they need a flat landing zone with a radius of 60 meters.
Recall that Perseverance previously found debris on Mars.
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