NASA Celebrates Perseverance Rover's 1,000th Martian Day

The Perseverance rover has been on Mars for almost three Earth years, but it just reached a uniquely Martian milestone. The wheeled explorer has now been on the red planet for 1,000 Martian days—or sols. NASA says the rover still has plenty of work to do, but it’s taking time to highlight some of the mission’s accomplishments and show off Perseverance’s collection of rock samples. NASA and the ESA hope to bring these samples back to Earth in the future, but that project has been rocky.
Perseverance landed on Feb. 18, 2021 in Jezero Crater, a 28-mile (45-kilometer) depression in the desolate landscape formed some 4 billion years ago. NASA chose this landing site because satellite images showed a clear river delta in the crater, indicating that it was home to a lake in the distant past. Deltas like this collect material that flows in with water, burying it in layers that can tell the story of a region’s geography.
The rover began by examining the floor of Jezero Crater, which it found is composed of igneous rock, which formed as a result of volcanic activity. The rover later detected sandstone and mudstone, further proof that an ancient river flowed into the crater. Above those rocks are salty deposits that most likely resulted from the evaporation of water as the lake dried up. In later eras, flowing water swept large boulders into the crater, distributing them throughout the area.
The history of Jezero is told in the rock core samples, which currently number 23. The rover was designed with an advanced sample caching system, which can analyze, sample, photograph, and store rocks for future study. Perseverance has the capacity to collect 38 samples in total. It has already deposited some tubes in a makeshift sample depot on the surface (see above), but there are duplicates inside the robot’s belly, too.
Searching for signs of life is part of the rover’s mandate, and several of the samples show evidence of organic compounds. While organics can have non-biological origins, they could also point the way to evidence of ancient life on Mars. The rover has also taken samples showing high levels of phosphate, which is found in cell membranes and DNA. There is also fine silica in some samples, which is ideal for preserving fossils on Earth. Perseverance can do some analysis in situ, but it’s laying the groundwork for a future mission that could tell us much more.
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is a joint project of NASA and the ESA. The goal is to pick up the Perseverance samples from Mars and bring them back to Earth. This mission will require new technologies, and many details are still up in the air. NASA recently announced it would have to pause work on MSR while it sorts out budget issues. It’s possible the mission could be scaled back, but Perseverance is already on Mars and performing its part of the job with aplomb. It would be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste. Still, if Perseverance is anything like its twin Curiosity rover, it’s got a lot of sols left in front of it. Even if MSR is delayed, Perseverance may still be ready to lend a robotic grasper when the time comes.
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