NASA: The Perseverance rover collected the first rock from Mars
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The US space agency (NASA) confirms Perseverance (Perseverance) robotic rover pierces a rock, managed to get the first stone sample.
The first images last Thursday had raised optimism that the rover drill had managed to take a sample, unlike the first time in early August, when scientists’ hopes were finally dashed as the stone sample had turned to dust that fell to the ground around from the drill. New images were needed to reach Earth over the weekend to confirm that this time the sample is now safely inside Perseverance, according to the BBC.
This is a historic achievement, as this sample is the rock core collected on another planet and planned to be sent to our planet to be studied by scientists in search of ancient Martian microbial life. The rover – if all goes well – will collect at least 20 such finger-sized stone specimens within the next year, which are planned to be sent to Earth in the 2030s through a joint Euro-American mission.
