Mars rover drops rock sample on Red planet: Why is NASA excited about it?

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been dropping samples on the surface of the Red planet. The Perseverance rover is supposed to drop 10 samples and it has recently dropped the ninth sample, which is making NASA excited. What is so special about the ninth sample?

The ninth sample has been collected from an igneous rock near the landing site of the rover. The Perseverance rover said in a tweet that if studied closely, the sample could tell the history of the area.

Rocks like this could also help scientists put a specific age on the surface of Mars. Age is usually guessed by counting craters in a region. The more craters, the older the surface. But such samples offer a key to unlocking the real answer.

In a series of tweets, the Perseverance rover said, “…nine tubes down! Why is my team excited about this one? This core sample came from an igneous rock back near my landing site. Brought back to Earth, it could tell scientists a lot about the earliest history of this lakebed area. But that’s not all...”

“Rocks like this, studied up close, could for the first time help put a specific age on the surface of Mars. Scientists often make educated guesses about the age by counting craters in a region (more craters = older),” it said.

Why is Perseverance rover dropping samples on Mars surface?

Dropping samples on the Mars surface is making humanity’s first sample depot on another planet, for backup. Perseverance has been taking duplicate samples from rock targets the mission selects.

According to NASA, the rover currently has the other 17 samples taken so far. The rover would deliver samples to a future robotic lander. The lander would, in turn, use a robotic arm to place the samples in a containment capsule aboard a small rocket that would blast off to Mars orbit, where another spacecraft would capture the sample container and return it safely to Earth.

The depot will serve as a backup if Perseverance can’t deliver its samples.

“I deliver the samples I’m still carrying directly to #MarsSampleReturn. But if I can’t, this set alone would be worth sending back,” it said.

Perseverance’s mission on Mars

A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.