NASA has been collecting samples from Mars' soil in hopes of unlocking knowledge about the Red Planet. The Mars rover had just collected its 16th sample, which may shed light on what Mars was like before.
16th Rock: Berea
The rock sample was collected during the latest mission of exploring the top of Jezero Crater's delta. It is said that that area is a carbonate-rich rock that was formed from deposits that were brought downstream by a now dried-up river.
The sample was collected using a coring bit at the end of the robotic arm of the rover, which occurred on March 30th, 2023, which is the 749th sol (Martian day) of the mission, as mentioned in Interesting Engineering.
Scientists aim to find fossilized lifeforms in the samples to better understand what the climate was on Mars before. Berea, along with the other samples, will contribute to the study of Jezero Crater's history and the waters that may have carved Mars' surface.
In future missions from NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, a spacecraft would be sent to Mars to retrieve the collected sample from the surface. It will then be returned to Earth to be studied for in-depth analysis.
The key objective of the Mars rover's mission is astrobiology, which includes the search for signs of microbial life from ancient Mars. The Perseverance will help with characterizing the planet's geology and past climate, according to NASA.
NASA Mars Exploration
NASA ultimately has four goals to achieve in the Mars exploration mission. The first is to determine if Mars ever supported life, the second is to understand its process and history, the third is to understand its geological system, and lastly, to prepare for human exploration.
Some scientists believe that Mars was once relatively similar to Earth during their early histories. The million-dollar question is if life ever existed on Mars. The two objectives for this are to find out of Mars could've had life, or if the environment contains evidence of extant life.
As for the climate, scientists are trying to understand how the climate has evolved to the point of its current state, as well as the process that occurred to make the outcome possible. Under geology, NASA had three objectives.
One is to characterize the state of the present climate of the planet's atmosphere, two is to characterize the history of Mars' climate in the recent past, as well as its process. The third objective is to characterize Mars' ancient climate and underlying process.
For climate, NASA aims to determine the state of the present climate on the Red Planet and the surrounding plasma environment and processes. The study goes as far as Mars' recent past climate and that of ancient times.
Of course, the robots sent to Mars are also a way for humans to prepare for the exploration of the planet. Seeing what the environment and climate are like will determine whether or not it's safe for humans to set foot on the planet.
