NASA's Mars Perseverance had found another rock promising enough to get a sample for study on Earth in the future.
The Mars Rover recently collected its tenth rock sample as part of its mission to look for signs of water and/or life on Mars during its earlier years, per Space.com.
The rock samples are currently expected to be back on Earth after a return mission by 2033 following a delay due to the original return-to-Earth mission's revision.
Big day for space science! From grand telescope views that #UnfoldTheUniverse, to extreme closeups of #SamplingMars, with rock cores barely the size of a pinky finger. I’ve now collected my 10th rock sample, seen here in the late afternoon Martian sun. pic.twitter.com/uOq5nABY8W
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) July 13, 2022
Perseverance Tenth Rock Sample Details
NASA mentioned in its tweet through the official Perseverance Mars rover Twitter page that it was able to collect a rock core barely the size of a finger for its tenth rock sample.
Although a momentous event worth celebrating, NASA left a side comment that could hint that it was overshadowed by the release of the first pictures taken by its latest high-end space observatory the James Webb Space Telescope.
Nevertheless, the space agency did not hesitate to post the picture of the rock core Perseverance took from a Martian rock commemorating it as the tenth Martian rock sample collected by the Martian rover.
"Bg day for space science! From grand telescope views that #UnfoldTheUniverse, to extreme closeups of #SamplingMars, with Rock cores barely the size of a pinky finger," NASA tweeted in Perseverance's Official Twitter Page. "I've now collected my tenth rock sample, seen here in the late afternoon sun."
The rock sample joins the nine samples Perseverance collected earlier in its quest to find signs of water and life on the Red Planet, with a possible 28 more available samples left to collect before it accomplishes its mission.
NASA mentioned that the Perseverance rover is carrying 43 sample tubes to store the samples it needs to take off the Red Planet. Out of the 43 tubes, 38 of these will be used for its rock samples.
the remaining five sample tubes are said to be "witness tubes" that were loaded with materials designed to capture molecular and particulate contaminants.
These five witness tubes are to be opened one at a time on Mars to witness the ambient environment near sample collection sites. The results will then be analyzed by NASA's science team for them to catalog any impurities that may have traveled with the tube from Earth or contaminants from the spacecraft that may be present during sample collection.
Perseverance's Missions On Mars
Currently, Perseverance's goal is to take a sample from a rock target called "Sid," which will undergo a sampling cadence of abrasion and remote/proximity science to further characterize the rock before coring.
NASA hopes that Sid, a Ch'ał member rock, will provide hints or even full information about the Jezero Crater's age and the lake that formed in it, per Phys.org.
Once the sample is collected, NASA will direct Perseverance to the northern tip of the Seitah and west towards the Jezero Crater's ancient rivel delta.
Perseverance's side mission is to scout for a convenient location where a spacecraft for the 2033 Mars sample return mission could land on. The area Perseverance will find will also provide a "suitable environment" to set up the first-ever launch pad on a planet other than Earth, per a separate Space.com article.
