![]() ![]() These datasets will be invaluable for potential future Mars missions that could enlist next-generation helicopters to add an aerial dimension to their explorations. NASA also will gain its first hands-on experience operating a rotorcraft remotely at Mars. If successful, engineers will gain invaluable in-flight data at Mars for comparison to the modeling, simulations, and tests performed back here on Earth. Even though gravity on Mars is about one-third that of Earth's, the helicopter must fly with the assistance of an atmosphere whose pressure at the surface is only 1% that of Earth. If Ingenuity were to encounter difficulties during its 30-sol (Martian day) mission, it would not impact the science gathering of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover mission.įlying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Mars Helicopter is a high-risk, high-reward technology demonstration. Just as Ingenuity was inspired by the Wright brothers, future explorers will take off using both the data and inspiration from this mission." "We do tech demos like this to push the envelope of our experience and provide something on which the next missions and the next generation can build. With this latest sample stored safely in a sample tube in the rover’s belly, the six-wheeler will continue to climb Jezero’s sedimentary fan toward the next bend in the dry riverbed, a location the science team is calling “Castell Henllys."While Ingenuity carries no science instruments, the little helicopter is already making its presence felt across the world, as future leaders follow its progress toward an unprecedented first flight," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters. With this diversity of environments to observe and collect from, we are confident that these samples will allow us to better understand what occurred here at Jezero Crater billions of years ago.” Now we are sampling from a geologic location where we find coarse-grained sedimentary rocks deposited in a river. “Perseverance’s mobility has allowed us to collect igneous samples from the relatively flat crater floor during the first campaign, and then travel to the base of the crater’s delta, where we found fine-grained sedimentary rocks deposited in a dried lakebed. “The Berea core highlights the beauty of rover missions,” said Perseverance’s project scientist, Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena. The image was taken by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument on March 30, 2023, the 749th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This image shows the rocky outcrop the Perseverance science team calls “Berea” after the NASA Mars rover extracted a rock core (right) and abraded a circular patch (left). By studying the carbonate in the Berea sample, the science team could help fill in the gaps. One big puzzle is how Mars’ climate worked back when this area was covered with liquid water.īecause carbonates form due to chemical interactions in liquid water, they can provide scientists with a long-term record of changes in the planet’s climate. If biosignatures were present in this part of Jezero Crater, it could be a rock like this one that could very well hold their secrets.”A Climate Puzzle “Carbonate rocks on Earth can be good at preserving fossilized lifeforms. “The second reason is that the rock is rich in carbonate,” said Katie Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. That would mean the material could have come from an area well beyond the confines of Jezero Crater, and it’s one reason why the team finds the rock so promising. The science team believes Berea formed from rock deposits carried downstream by an ancient river to this location. ![]() ![]() Scientists want to study Martian samples with powerful lab equipment on Earth to search for signs of ancient microbial life and to better understand the water cycle that has shaped the surface and interior of Mars.Ĭored from a rock the science team calls “Berea,” this latest sample is the 16th cored rock sample of the mission (there are also samples of regolith – or broken rock and dust – as well as Mars atmosphere read more about the samples). It recently deposited 10 tubes as a backup cache on the Martian surface as part of the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign. Perseverance has collected 19 samples and three witness tubes. On this one, the rover is exploring the top of Jezero Crater’s delta. ![]()
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