The first cored sample of Mars rock is visible (at center) inside a titanium sample collection tube in this image from the Sampling and Caching System Camera (known as CacheCam) of NASA’s Perseverance rover. The image was taken on Sept. 6, 2021, (the 194th sol, or Martian day, of the mission), prior to the system attaching and sealing a metal cap onto the tube. The image was taken so the cored-rock sample would be in focus. The dark ring surrounding the sample is a portion of the sample tube’s inner wall. The bright, gold-colored ring surrounding the tube and sample is the “bearing race,” an asymmetrical flange that assists in shearing off a sample once the coring drill has bored into a rock. The outermost, mottled-brown disc in this image is a portion of the sample-handling arm inside the rover’s adaptive caching assembly.NASA/JPL-Caltech
The NASA Astrobiology Program has partnered with KnowInnovation (KI) to host a pilot Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory focused on the search for life at Mars. NASA would like to provide early career researchers the opportunity to develop new concepts for Astrobiology missions.
This event will be an Ideas Lab-like activity focused on developing Astrobiology missions, will provide an enrichment experience for the participants, and is intended to be a first step in further development of the top ideas. Participants are expected to be early career post-docs and graduate students, with an interest in becoming more involved in astrobiology-focused space missions.
Greenbelt, MD
The event is tentatively scheduled for a week in August 2023 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. We encourage those with an interest in participating to fill out the Indication of Interest form and submit an application, when available.