Out of Pebble Purgatory
BLOG | January 27, 2022
Written by Avi Okon, Sampling Operations Deputy Lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The final two pebbles hitching a ride aboard our rover’s bit carousel are gone but not forgotten. I’ll give you the latest on why they are gone and then tell you why we are not forgetting them – or the two other pebbles that made our first month of 2022 a busy one.
Confirmation
We had more than a suspicion the rocks had departed the Perseverance rover on Sunday when imagery of the bit carousel came down after a short 16-foot (5 meter) drive to a nearby rocky outcrop. That drive, which took place on the previous sol, was designed to get us to a small rocky outcrop that would place the rover at an angle that could be beneficial for ejecting the pebbles.
To be thorough (because we Mars missions like to be), we did a full rotation of the bit carousel in both directions, with the rover oriented in a 13.2-degree roll to the left, and we found nothing hindering its progress. We also ran the rover’s percussion drill to induce vibration, hoping to shake any possible remaining debris free from the bit holder. Finally, we docked the drill to the bit carousel and dropped off the bit.
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/361/out-of-pebble-purgatory/