NASA’s Perseverance rover fails to collect its first Martian rock sample

NASA’s Perseverance rover has just made a rare misstep. The space agency revealed that the robotic vehicle failed to collect Martian rock samples on its first attempt. While the hammer drill, core drill, and sample tube processing worked “as expected,” a probe indicated that the tube was empty – not exactly what scientists expected when everything else went. been verified.

Scientists are still investigating what happened and may not have an answer for a few days. Perseverance Project Manager Jennifer Trosper said the team suspected the rock may have reacted unexpectedly during the coring process. The equipment is probably fine, in other words.

The Martian surface has created problems more than once. The Phoenix Lander struggled to pick up “sticky” soil in 2008, for example, while Curiosity and InSight also struggled to crack in the rocks and the surface itself.

This first setback will not necessarily jeopardize the mission of Perseverance. However, NASA will want to minimize incidents like this. The rover was sent to Mars largely to collect samples that would eventually return to Earth and help scientists look for signs of past life. The fewer samples NASA receives, the less likely it will be to explore the history of Mars.