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Two holes are visible in the rock, nicknamed “Rochette”, from which NASA’s Perseverance rover obtained its first cores. The rover drilled the hole on the left, called “Montagnac”, on September 7, and the hole on the right, known as “Montdenier”, on September 1. Below is a round point that the rover abraded. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
The rocks she analyzed for sample collection help the team better understand a past marked by volcanic activity and water.
Nasaperseverance March rover has successfully collected its first pair of rock samples, and scientists are already gaining new knowledge about the area. After taking its first sample, named “Montdenier”, on September 6, the team took a second, “Montagnac”, from the same rock on September 8.
Analysis of the rocks from which the Montdenier and Montagnac samples were taken and the rover’s previous attempt to sample could help the science team reconstruct the chronology of the region’s past, marked by volcanic activity and periods of persistent water.
“It appears that our first rocks reveal a potentially habitable supported environment,” said Ken Farley of Caltech, project scientist for the mission, which is led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “It’s a big deal that the water has been around for a long time.”
The rock which provided the first cores of the mission is of basaltic composition and may be the product of lava flows. The presence of crystalline minerals in volcanic rocks is particularly useful for radiometric dating. The rock’s volcanic origin could help scientists accurately date when it formed. Each sample can be part of a larger chronological puzzle; put them in the right order and scientists will have a timeline of the most important events in the history of the crater. Some of these events include the formation of the Jezero crater, the emergence and disappearance of Lake Jezero, and changes in the planet’s climate in the ancient past.
This mosaic image (made up of several individual images taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover) shows a rock outcrop in the area dubbed “Citadel” on the floor of the Jezero de Mars crater. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS
In addition, salts have been spotted inside these rocks. These salts may have formed when groundwater has passed through and weathered the original minerals in the rock, or more likely when liquid water evaporated, leaving the salts behind. The salt minerals in those first two rock cores may also have trapped tiny bubbles of ancient Martian water. If present, they could serve as microscopic time capsules, offering clues to the ancient climate and habitability of Mars. Salt minerals are also well known on Earth for their ability to preserve signs of ancient life.
The Perseverance scientific team already knew that a lake had already filled the crater; how long has been more uncertain. Scientists couldn’t rule out the possibility that Lake Jezero was “lightning in the pan”: floodwaters could have quickly filled the impact crater and dried up within 50 years, for example.
But the level of weathering scientists see in the rock that provided the core samples – as well as the rock the team targeted in its first attempt to acquire samples – suggests groundwater was present. since a long time.
This groundwater could have been tied to the lake that once stood in Jezero, or it could have passed through the rocks long after the lake had dried up. While scientists still cannot say whether the water that weathered these rocks was present for tens of thousands or millions of years, they are more certain that it was there long enough to make the region more welcoming. for microscopic life in the past.
“These samples are of great value for future laboratory analyzes on Earth,” said Mitch Schulte of NASA headquarters, the mission’s program scientist. “Someday we may be able to determine the sequence and timing of the environmental conditions represented by the minerals in this rock. This will help answer the general scientific question of the history and stability of liquid water on Mars. “
Next stop, “Sud Séítah”
Perseverance is currently looking at the bottom of the crater for samples that can be brought back to Earth to answer deep questions about the history of Mars. Promising samples are sealed in titanium tubes that the rover carries in its chassis, where they will be stored until Perseverance drops them off to be picked up by a future mission. Perseverance will likely create several “deposits” later in the mission, where it will deposit samples for a future mission to bring to Earth. Having one or more repositories increases the likelihood that particularly valuable samples will be accessible for recovery on Earth.
Perseverance’s next likely sampling site is just 200 meters (656 feet) in “South Séítah,” a series of ridges covered with sand dunes, boulders, and rock shards that Farley likens to “plates. broken ”.
The recent drill sample from the rover represents what is probably one of the youngest rock layers to be found on the floor of Jezero Crater. Southern Séítah, on the other hand, is likely older and will provide the science team with a better timeline for understanding the events that shaped the crater floor, including its lake.
In early October, all Martian missions will cease commanding their spacecraft for several weeks, a measure of protection for a period known as the Martian Solar Conjunction. It is unlikely that perseverance would be exercised in the south of the Séítah before this period.
Learn more about perseverance
A key focus of Perseverance’s mission to Mars is astrobiology, including looking for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s past geology and climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed surface samples and return them to Earth for further analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., built and manages the operations of the Perseverance rover.
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