The Perseverance Rover landed on Mars in February 2021 (Image: Getty)
Perseverance Rover has made a remarkable discovery – a new sample collected from “unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”
The sample known as “Silver Mountain”, is a rock core and the rover’s 26th sample, sealed into a tube so it can be analysed in labs on Earth in the future.
A number of samples from the planet have been collected as part of , aimed at getting a better understanding of the planet’s geological processes and history as well as to assess any possibility of past life.
NASA has shared that the samples could make a return to Earth between 2035 and 2039.
However, the space agency is deciding how to achieve the return of the material to this planet, with a decision set to be announced as soon as 2026.
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A 26th sample from Mars has been collected (Image: @NASAPersevere/X)
“Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan,” former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
The Preseverance rover, nick-named “Percy”, first landed on Mars February 18, 2021 and is exploring the planet’s Jezero Crater region, which may have once been a fitting home for microbial life.
Percy has completed four science campaigns including the Crater Floor, Fan Front, Upper Fan and Margin Unit. The fifth and current trek is called the Northern Rim. This is because Percy’s route covers the northern part of the southwestern section of Jezero’s rim.
It is expected to visit four sites of geological interest and take multiple samples.
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NASA tracks Percy’s path in Mars (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
According to an interactive map on NASA’s website that tracks the rover’s location and path, it has currently journed across more than 20 miles.
As it explores the region it uses its coring drill to collect samples, which are then kept in titanium tubes.
Nicky Fox, leader of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said: “This will also prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars.”
The rover bought 43 tubes to Mars, 38 for collecting samples and five “witness tubes” designed to document the cleanliness of its sampling system throughout the mission.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program to enable humans to one day explore the Red Planet in person.