Page 4 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 04
P. 4

Perseverance rover collects Mars samples rich in


         'organic matter' for future return to Earth


                                                    In just a year and a half on Mars, NASA's Perseverance
                                                    rover has absolutely rocked its mission. The agency
                                                    held a briefing on Thursday to discuss highlights from
                                                    the science mission so far, and it was a celebration of
                                                    rock samples and the discovery of organic matter.

                                                    A rock named Wildcat Ridge, located in an ancient river
                                                    delta region of Jezero Crater, was one of the stars of the
                                                    show. Percy successfully collected two samples from the
           Perseverance collected two core samples from Wildcat
         Ridge and also abraded a round patch to inspect the rock   mudstone rock. Wildcat Ridge is particularly exciting
         with its Sherloc instrument. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-  because the organic molecules (called aromatics) found
         Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
                                                    in it are considered a potential biosignature, which
         NASA describes as a substance or structure that
         could be evidence of past life but may also have been
         produced without the presence of life.

         The rover team emphasized that finding organic
         matter doesn't mean it's found evidence of ancient
         life. Organic molecules have been spotted on Mars
         before, by the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater and also
         by Perseverance, which found carbon-containing
         molecules earlier in the mission.                         (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

         The rover's Sherloc instrument investigated the rock. (Sherloc stands for Scanning Habitable
         Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals.) "In its analysis of Wildcat
         Ridge, the Sherloc instrument registered the most abundant organic detections on the mission to
         date," NASA said.
         Scientists are seeing familiar signs in the analysis of Wildcat Ridge. "In the distant past, the
         sand, mud and salts that now make up the Wildcat Ridge sample were deposited under
         conditions where life could potentially have thrived," said Perseverance project scientist Ken
         Farley in a statement. "The fact the organic matter was found in such a sedimentary rock --
         known for preserving fossils of ancient life here on Earth -- is important."

         Perseverance isn't equipped to find definitive evidence of ancient microbial life on the red planet.
         "The reality is the burden of proof for establishing life on another planet is very, very high," said
         Farley during the press conference. For that, we need to examine Mars rocks up close and in
         person in Earth labs.
         Percy currently has 12 rock samples on board, including the Wildcat Ridge pieces and samples
         from another sedimentary delta rock called Skinner Ridge. It also collected igneous rock samples
         earlier in the mission that point to the impact of long-ago volcanic action in the crater.

         NASA is so happy with the diversity of samples collected that it's looking into dropping some of
         the filled tubes off on the surface soon in preparation for the future Mars Sample Return (MSR)
         campaign. MSR is an ambitious plan to send a lander to Mars, pick up Percy's samples, rocket
         them off the surface and bring them back to Earth for close study. The mission is under
         development. If all goes as planned, those rocks could be here by 2033.



         Space Explorer 2022                                                                                                                                                    4
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9