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Like a white ball of gum fallen in the sand, NASA’s Perseverance rover shines among the cliffs of Mars in a striking new satellite image.
Perseverance – or “Percy,” for his familiars – has been rolling around Mars’ massive Jezero crater since he completed a death defying parachute drop on the red planet in February. In this image, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Percy pushes through the land south of Séítah – a series of rocky ridges covered with sand dunes – in order to find a nice ancient boulder to dig.
South Séítah (which comes from a word in the Navajo language meaning “in the middle of the sand”, according to NASA) is approximately 650 feet (200 meters) from the Percy’s site first successful drilling operation, completed in early September. Targeting a large boulder nicknamed “Rochette,” Percy extracted a pencil-thin core, which NASA researchers hope to recover and deliver to. Earth in a future unmanned mission.
Related: Perseverance rover collects second sample from Mars (photos)
By collecting rock core samples from several sites in Jezero Crater, NASA scientists hope to gain broad insight into the past geological history and climate of the planet, stretching back millions to billions of years. The results of this mission could reveal whether or not Mars was fit to host life, and could also “pave the way for human exploration of the red planet”, according to one. NASA statement.
Meanwhile, higher up, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been quietly monitoring the Red Planet since March 2006, celebrating its 15th year in orbit earlier this year. Its main mission is to look for signs of water (past or present) on Mars, but the satellite never shies away from snapping a photo or two of its fellow robots. Earlier this year, the Orbiter caught a photo taken from the Curiosity rover scaling the slopes of Mont Mercou, scaling the hill like the little prowler who could.
Perseverance, Curiosity, and all of NASA’s spacecraft on Mars will spend the next few weeks on a sort of hiatus, as Earth and Mars move back and forth across the sun. This Martian solar conjunction occurs every two years, according to NASA, and makes direct communication between the two planets a little tricky.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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