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
This artist's concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays the launch of an ascent vehicle.NASA/JPL-Caltech
Two holes are visible in the rock, nicknamed “Rochette,” from which NASA’s Perseverance rover obtained its first core samples. The rover drilled the hole on the left, called “Montagnac,” Sept. 7, and the hole on the right, known as “Montdenier,” Sept. 1. Below it is a round spot the rover abraded.NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is the topic of a special June 2022 edition of the scientific journal Astrobiology. The collection of open access articles covers a wide range of topics relevant to sample science and includes work from a number of NASA-funded scientists.
NASA and ESA are currently developing technology and methods to transport samples of rock and dust from the surface of Mars to Earth. For more information about Mars Sample Return, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/msr.
The first step in this endeavor is NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is currently collecting and caching samples on Mars. If these samples are successfully delivered into the hands of scientists on Earth in the early to mid 2030s, they could help answer key questions about the ancient martian environment, including whether or not it could have supported life.
Click here to view the articles in Volume 22, Issue S1, of the journal Astrobiology.
How the Perseverance Mars Rover Will Help NASA Return Mars Samples to Earth. Credit: NASA