NASA assembles a response team after the first Mars sampling attempt came by the Persevering Rover Empty

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This image taken by a hazard camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on August 6, 2021 shows the hole dug into what the rover’s science team calls “pavement rock” in preparation for the first mission attempt to collect a sample from Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The rover continues to explore Jezero Crater while the team evaluates its recent activities.

Data sent back to Earth by NASA’s rover after its first attempt to collect a rock sample on Mars and sealed in a sample tube indicates that no rocks were collected during its initial sampling activity.

The rover is carrying 43 samples of titanium tubes and exploring the Jezero crater, where it will collect samples of rocks and regolith (fractured rock and dust) for future analysis on Earth.

This image, taken by NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft on August 6, shows that sample collection tube number 233 is empty. It’s one of the bits of data sent back to Earth by Perseverance that shows the probe didn’t collect any Martian rocks during its first attempt to form a core sample. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“Although this is not the ‘hole-in-one’ we were hoping for, there is always a risk of breaking new ground,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. This matter, and we will persevere in finding a solution to ensure future success.”

The persistence sampling and buffering system uses a hollow drill bit and a percussion drill at the end of its 7-foot (2-meter) robotic arm to extract samples. Telemetry from the rover indicates that during the first drilling attempt, the drill and bit were operated as planned, and after drilling, the sample tube was processed as intended.

This color-enhanced image from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover shows a sample tube inside the drill bit after drilling activity was completed on August 6. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“The sampling process is independent from start to finish,” said Jessica Samuels, Surface Mission Manager for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “One of the steps that occurs after a probe is placed in the collection tube is to measure the volume of the sample. The probe has not encountered the expected resistance that would exist if the sample were inside the tube.”

The Perseverance mission assembles a response team for data analysis. One early step would be to use a WATSON (Wide-Angle Operations and Electronic Engineering Topographical Sensor) imaging device — located at the end of the robotic arm — to take close-up images of the well. Once the team has a better understanding of what happened, they will be able to ascertain when the next sample collection attempt is scheduled.

The drilling hole from Perseverance’s first sample collection attempt, along with the rover’s shadow, can be seen in this image taken by one of the rover’s navigation cameras. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

said Jennifer Trosper, director of the Perseverance Project at JPL. “Over the next few days, the team will spend more time analyzing the data we have, as well as obtaining some additional diagnostic data to support understanding the root cause of the empty tube.”

Previous NASA missions to Mars have also encountered surprising properties of rocks and regolith during sample collection and other activities. In 2008, the Phoenix Expedition sampled soil that was “sticky” and difficult to transfer to science instruments on board, leading to multiple attempts before success was achieved. Curiosity dug into the rocks, which turned out to be more solid and brittle than expected. Recently, the heat probe on the InSight lander, known as the “Mole,” was unable to penetrate the surface of Mars as planned.

This animation shows data collected on a Mars persistence sample tube using a computerized tomography (CT) scanner. Engineers working on the sample tubes used 3D images to better understand the tubes’ internal structure. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“I’ve been involved in every Mars rover mission since the beginning, and this planet always teaches us what we don’t know about it,” Trosper said. “One thing I have found is that it is not unusual for complications to occur during complex activities for the first time.”

The first scientific campaign

Perseverance is currently exploring two geological units that contain the deepest and oldest exposed terrestrial rock layers at Jezero Crater and other interesting geological features. The first unit, called the “coarse crater”, is the Jezero floor. The neighboring unit, called “Séítah” (meaning “middle of the sand” in the Navajo language), has Martian rocks as well, and is also home to hills, layered rocks, and sand dunes.

Recently, the Perseverance Science team began using color images from an Ingenuity Mars helicopter to help explore areas of potential scientific interest and look for potential hazards. Ingenuity completed its eleventh flight on Wednesday, August 4, cutting approximately 1,250 feet (380 m) below its current location so that it can provide aerial reconnaissance for the project to the southern Sitah area.

The rover’s initial science campaign, spanning hundreds of Martian days (or Mars days), will be completed when Perseverance returns to its landing site. At this point, Perseverance will have traveled between 1.6 and 3.1 miles (2.5 and 5 kilometres) and may have filled up to eight of its sample tubes.

Then, Perseverance will move north, then west, toward the site of its second science expedition: the Jezero Crater Delta. The delta is the fan-shaped remnant of an ancient river and lake confluence within the Jezero Crater. The region may be particularly rich in carbonate minerals. On Earth, such minerals can preserve the fossilized signs of ancient microscopic life and are linked to biological processes.

More about the mission

Astrobiology is one of the main goals of the persistence mission to Mars, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and store Martian rocks and regolith.

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

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Lunar-to-Mars Exploration Approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated by the NASA-administered California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, built and operated the rover’s operations.

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