NASA’s Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain The most recent discoveries provide greater detail on a region of the Red Planet that has a watery past and is yielding promising samples for the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign. NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is well i
, is collecting rock-core samples from features within an area that scientists have long considered to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. Since July 7 the rover has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the, bringing the total count of scientifically compelling rock samples to 12.
“We picked the Jezero Crater for Perseverance to explore because we thought it had the best chance of providing scientifically excellent samples – and now we know we sent the rover to the right location,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “These first two science campaigns have yielded an amazing diversity of samples to bring back to Earth by theJezero Crater, which is 28 miles wide, hosts a delta – an ancient fan-shaped feature that formed about 3.
, the rover surveyed the crater’s floor, finding igneous rock, which forms deep underground from magma or during volcanic activity at the surface.NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover has arrived at an ancient delta in Jezero Crater, one of the best places on the Red Planet to search for potential signs of ancient life. The delta is an area where scientists surmise that a river once flowed billions of years ago into a lake and deposited sediments in a fan shape.
A notable rock about 3 feet wide has been given the name “Wildcat Ridge.” It likely formed billions of years ago as mud and fine sand settled in an evaporating saltwater lake. On July 20, the rover abraded some of the surface of Wildcat Ridge.
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