Near the base of Jezero Crater, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has begun exploring an area called "Yori Pass". After seeing a rock similar to one Perseverance collected samples from in July, they were eager to explore the region.
Scientists are interested in the feature because it is sandstone, which is composed of fine grains that have been carried from elsewhere by water before it settles and forms stone. Perseverance's samples are central to the first step in the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign.
"We often prioritize study of fine-grained sedimentary rocks like this one in our search for organics and potential biosignatures," said Perseverance deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Yori Pass outcrop is very similar to the "Hogwallow Flats" outcrop where we found very fine- grained rocks. The rock bed is located at the same elevation as Hogwallow and has a large footprint on the surface.
One of the science objectives of the Perseverance rover is the hunt for biosignatures at Jezero Crater. Along with its 14 rock-core samples, the rover has collected one atmospheric sample and three witness tubes, all of which are stored in the rover's belly
Perseverance will drive 745 feet southeast after collecting a sample from Yori Pass. The ripple is located in the middle of a small dune field and is where the rover will collect its first samples of regolith.
Citation: NASA's Perseverance Rover investigates intriguing Martian bedrock (2022, November 17) retrieved 17 November 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-11-nasa-perseverance-rover-intriguing-martian.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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