NASA released this Tuesday, April 6, 2021 image. It shows the Perseverance Mars Rover, in the foreground, and Ingenuity helicopter, about 13 feet (3.9 meters) behind. This composite image was taken by the WASTON camera attached to the robotic arm of the rover on the 46th Martian Day, or sol. NASA's new Mars rover failed to find a rock sample on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS via APNASA's Mars rover was unsuccessful in Friday's attempt to collect a sample of rock to be sent back to Earth.Perseverance, the rover, drilled into the Jezero Crater's floor to collect a sample of finger-sized flat rocks. Although the drill worked as expected, it did not appear to have any rock in the tube. The agency stated Friday.Engineers worked to determine the cause."While this isn't the 'hole in one' we had hoped for," stated Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's chief science mission chief.NASA project scientist Ken Farley said that the next step will involve using a camera mounted to a robot arm to examine inside the hole. They might find the core of broken rock or discover that the sample has turned to sand. He said that rock properties could be different from what we had expected.This image was taken on August 6, 2021 by NASA and shows the shadow cast by the Perseverance Mars Rover next to the first hole it drilled in rock.Farley stated that it was deflating as the whole complex piece of machinery worked perfectly, and the engineering worked just fine. However, Mars seems to have stopped cooperating." Farley added that he didn’t consider the glitch a long-term issue, and said that it wasn’t a problem. "We will persevere."NASA plans to collect 31 samples in tubes, and store them in a safe place for a period of about ten years. The European Space Agency plans to bring the samples to Earth on another mission in the 2030s.Continue reading NASA Mars Rover begins to collect rock for alien life2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Without permission, this material may not be broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
