Perseverance successfully dropped its second rock sample tube onto the Martian surface, according to a NASA statement released on Friday.
While not the first Mars sample that Perseverance has dropped in preparation for a potential future mission to bring to Earth in 2033, it is unquestionably the largest.
Perseverance Has Begun Gathering Evidence To Answer Whether There Is Life On Mars
It is a significant turning point in the long-running mission to bring samples from another planet back to Earth for laboratory research, BBC writes.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration believes that the answer to the question of whether there is life on Earth can only be found by examining rock and soil samples.
"This tube holds a piece of sedimentary rock from the edge of the ancient river delta here - the longest rock core I've taken to date," the Perseverance team announced.
The robot's body was used to eject the finger-sized sample tube, which was then photographed to ensure that it had landed properly.
The "Mageik" sample, which the rover extracted from the rock "Amalik" this fall from the "Enchanted Lake" region of the ancient delta in its Jezero Crater landing site, is the longest rock core that Perseverance has ever collected.
According to Space, the rock core sample inside the tube, which is about the size of a marker, was measured at 7.36 cm (about 2.9 inches)
Perseverance will also release soil and air samples, as well as a unique tube that has been recording conditions inside the rover, including any contaminants it may have been emitting.
The fetch mission will be sent directly to Three Forks if Perseverance dies in the nightmare scenario.
It will have two claw-equipped drones that can grab the tubes and transport them to the rocket system, where they will be launched off Mars for the trip back to Earth.
If everything goes as planned, Perseverance or two tiny helicopters will transport Mars samples to a lander, which would launch them into space for a waiting orbiter to collect for the journey back to Earth.
Read More: NASA Mars Perseverance Rover Successfully Gathers First Dirt Samples
What The Future Holds For The Mars Explorations
In January 2023, Perseverance, a NASA rover that landed on Mars in February 2021, will have finished its initial mission in Jezero.
However, NASA officials have already agreed to fund continued operations because all robotic systems are in good condition and there is still a lot of science to be done.
The vehicle will soon ascend the delta mound that dominates the west of the crater with the help of its scout drone, Ingenuity.
Perseverance will look into what might be flood activity evidence based on the size of some boulders strewn across the top of the delta.
The robot will then move to the crater's edge where satellite images suggest there are sedimentary rocks of the carbonate type, BBC reports.
Considering that Perseverance still has more than 20 sample tubes that need to be filled, these will be a good place to look once more for ancient microbial activity.
Related Article: NASA's Perseverance Rover Finds Volcanic Rocks in What Used to be a Martian Lake
