NASA's Perseverance rover is all set to begin the first sample depot on another world. This will mark a crucial milestone in the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign, which aims to bring Mars samples to Earth for closer study, according to NASA's website.
Explaining the depot-building process, NASA explains that it starts when the rover drops one of its titanium sample tubes carrying a chalk-size core of rock from its belly 2.9 feet (88.8 centimetres) onto the ground at an area within Jezero Crater nicknamed "Three Forks." Over the course of 30 or so days, Perseverance will deposit a total of 10 tubes that carry samples representing the diversity of the rock record in Jezero Crater.
The American space agency also shared a picture on its Instagram. The image shows a field view of a sandy terrain in shares of grey and brown, dotted by rocks of various sizes. The tracks left by the rover are visible near the bottom right of the image. A white sky is pictured above the slopes of Martian hills in the distance.
In the caption, NASA shared the key objective of the Perseverance's mission on Mars, "Mission is astrobiology, including storing samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith."
Check out the post here:
Perseverance's prime mission will conclude on Jan. 6, 2023 - one Mars year (about 687 Earth days) after its Feb. 18, 2021, landing.
Meanwhile, scientists have revealed the audio of a dust devil on Mars that was recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover. It lasts for around 10 seconds and includes up to 25 metres per hour of rumbling gusts as well as hundreds of dust particles pinging against the Perseverance rover. According to the researchers, it sounds surprisingly similar to dust devils on Earth, though quieter due to the thin atmosphere on Mars, which produces more subdued sounds and less fierce wind. Dust devils, or dust whirlwinds, are common on the red planet and are part of the weather patterns.
