Robot from NASA investigates rocks on Mars and makes an unprecedented discovery

The robot Perseverance took a well-deserved break in October during solar conjunction, but it’s back to investigating intriguing rocks in the Jezero crater on Mars.

Solar conjunction – a period when the sun is between Earth and Mars – began on October 2, which disrupted NASA’s communications with the rover. That blackout ended on October 19, and Perseverance immediately returned to its search for signs of ancestral life on the red planet.

One of the robot’s main goals is to collect samples of rocks and dirt on Mars that will be returned to Earth in future missions. Two samples have already been collected, with the help of the Ingenuity helicopter, which helps in finding targets worthy of investigation.

Since October 25, Perseverance has been investigating rocks from the southern region of the planet, which are of interest to the team of scientists on Earth. The rover has an abrasive tool in its robotic arm that can scrape away layers to get a look inside these rocks.

“Layered rocks like this often form in water and can hold clues to what their environment used to be. Let’s see if this would be another good place to get samples,” he wrote NASA in profile of the rover in early November.

After scraping away the rocks, Perseverance sent back images to show what was under the top layer: what appears to be a bunch of minerals and granular sediments.

“I looked inside to see something that no one has ever seen. I scraped off a small piece of this rock to remove the surface layer and have a look underneath. Focusing on my next target to get samples from Mars,” posted the Perseverance account on November 9th.

Peering inside to look at something no one’s ever seen. I’ve abraded a small patch of this rock to remove the surface layer and get a look underneath. Zeroing in on my next target for #SamplingMars.

More pics here for fellow rock lovers: https://t.co/Ex1QDo3eC2 pic.twitter.com/qfIRs3MYyI

– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) November 9, 2021

The mineral content of the rocks in Jezero Crater, a site that was once a lake 3.7 billion years ago, acts like an intact time capsule. They can tell scientists how the rocks formed and what the climate was like at the time.

This can provide an overview of what your lake and river delta looked like when the planet was warmer and wetter – and potentially habitable.

“Perseverance and its team have come a long way in the last 8 months of operating on the surface of Mars,” wrote David Pedersen, co-investigator of the rover at the Technical University of Denmark, in a recent post.