NASA's Perseverance Plans Next Sample Attempt
Aug 26, 2021
The rover will abrade a rock this week, allowing scientists and engineers to decide whether that target would withstand its powerful drill.
In its search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is once again preparing to collect the first of many rock core samples that could eventually be brought to Earth for further study.
This week, a tool on the rover’s 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm will abrade the surface of a rock nicknamed “Rochette,” allowing scientists to look inside and determine whether they want to capture a sample with the rover’s coring bit. Slightly thicker than a pencil, the sample would be sealed in one of the 42 remaining titanium tubes aboard the rover.
Should the team decide to acquire a core from this rock, the sampling process would be initiated next week.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-plans-next-sample-attempt