Preservation sends its first analysis of the rocks of Mars

The scientific instrument “Super Cam” of the mobile robot “Perseverance” sent the first analytical elements to the Martian rocks, which the spacecraft landed on its surface three weeks ago, according to what officials of the mission announced Wednesday. , confirming that the built-in technical camera is “in very good condition”.

The tool designed by the French, which aims to provide data on the chemical and mineral composition of the surface of the red planet, in search of traces of past life on it, sent its first data the day after l landing of the rover on February 18.

“These early results are proof that the tool works well,” Sylvester Morris, one of the “Super Cam” designers in charge of the Institute for Scientific Research in Astrophysics and Planetary Science, told a conference. release on “YouTube”.

And mission scientist Naomi Murdoch first played recorded sounds on the surface of Mars with a machine, after NASA released the first recording of Mars winds soon after the vehicle landed.

In the new recording, the sound of the impact of the laser beams fired by the “Super Cam” at the rock for examination was heard, and it sounded like a clicking sound.

Sylvester explained that the first radiation emitted on the twelfth day of the mission, on a rock called “Maz”, showed that the most important constituents of it were “silicon, potassium and aluminum”.

The “Super Cam” is installed at the top of the rover’s mast and combines five measurement technologies, including a camera and a microphone, with the aim of studying the geology of Mars and helping to select samples, with the aim of send them back to Earth for analysis.