Perseverance Rover Successfully Cores Its First Rock On Mars (cnn.com) 30
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: The Perseverance rover successfully drilled into a Martian rock on Thursday, creating an intact core sample that could one day be returned to Earth. But NASA wants better images to make sure the sample is safely in the tube before it's sealed up and stowed on the rover. So far, data sent back by the rover and initial images suggest an intact sample was inside the tube after Perseverance drilled into a rock selected by the mission's science team. After the initial images were taken, the rover vibrated the drill bit and tube for five one-second bursts to clear both of any residual material from outside of the tube. It's possible that this caused the sample to slide down further inside the tube.
The next images taken after this were "inconclusive due to poor sunlight conditions," according to the agency. Perseverance will use its cameras to take more images under better lighting conditions before conducting the next steps of the sampling process. The extra step of taking additional images before sealing and stowing the sample tube was added after Perseverance attempted to drill into another rock target on August 5. During that attempt, the rock crumbled and there was no sample present in the tube once it was stowed.
Perseverance is currently exploring the Citadelle location in Jezero Crater, which -- billions of years ago -- was once the site of an ancient lake. The rover's specific target was a rock called Rochette, which is about the size of a briefcase and is part of a half-mile ridgeline of rock outcrops and boulders. The mission team should receive more images of what's inside the sample tube by September 4. If images taken while the sun is at a better angle don't help the team determine whether a sample is present, the tube will be sealed and the rover will measure its volume. If Perseverance is able to successfully collect samples from Mars, they will be returned to Earth by future missions -- and they could reveal if microbial life ever existed on Mars.
The next images taken after this were "inconclusive due to poor sunlight conditions," according to the agency. Perseverance will use its cameras to take more images under better lighting conditions before conducting the next steps of the sampling process. The extra step of taking additional images before sealing and stowing the sample tube was added after Perseverance attempted to drill into another rock target on August 5. During that attempt, the rock crumbled and there was no sample present in the tube once it was stowed.
Perseverance is currently exploring the Citadelle location in Jezero Crater, which -- billions of years ago -- was once the site of an ancient lake. The rover's specific target was a rock called Rochette, which is about the size of a briefcase and is part of a half-mile ridgeline of rock outcrops and boulders. The mission team should receive more images of what's inside the sample tube by September 4. If images taken while the sun is at a better angle don't help the team determine whether a sample is present, the tube will be sealed and the rover will measure its volume. If Perseverance is able to successfully collect samples from Mars, they will be returned to Earth by future missions -- and they could reveal if microbial life ever existed on Mars.
Well done, Percy! (Score:2)
Well that's a bit of a relief. Another bit working as intended.
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Well that's a bit of a relief. Another bit working as intended.
Actually if it were all working "as intended", then there would have been no need to manufacture the "oh noes! we're not sure if we got a good sample" bullshit drama.
But drama is what sells today. Facts are boring as shit and don't get you any click hype. Without click hype, there is no budget for the next mission.
Yes. It is narcissism that drives budgets today. Stupid, but true.
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amazing.
all that vast kiss my ass intelligence.
and not a single one thought about using a camera to actually see if what they wanted was really happening.
boys and girls.
there is a lesson to be learned here.
test question.
when the gods want to f**k you up.
what is the first thing they do
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But drama is what sells today. Facts are boring as shit and don't get you any click hype.
I agree with your cynicism about how stuff gets reported, with manufactured drama and controversy.
My feeling was motivated by what it is like getting new engineering kit working in the field, when that is at the other end of England, and might involve a few callouts. Getting kit working on another planet is obviously a bit more nervous-making, hence the sigh of relief. Put it this way, we can't send an engineer out in a Ford Transit van to Mars, if stuff does not work as planned, and needs fixing.
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A martian robot cored a rock? (Score:2)
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More reporting (Score:4, Informative)
Related: the Ingenuity helicopter is still going strong. It recently finished its 12th flight [space.com], logging 450 m over about three minutes [nasa.gov].
So much potential ... (Score:5, Insightful)
We are on the cusp of achieving so much, there is so much potential, but somehow far too many seem to hell bent on the path of self destruction for our species that I think we have the answer to the Fermi Paradox.
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It really is a race now, isn't it?
There's a lot of hope in our current space programs. There are plans for large stations to be put into orbit. There are plans for massive fleets of ships to start carrying things to the moon and then on to Mars. There's the potential to see massive scientific progress on a scale never seen before.
But there's also our current climate issues. And the seeming split in the public. Dividing issues are everywhere, and people are angry and directionless. If someone finds a w
Would lifeforms derail colonization? (Score:2)
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That depends. First we'd have to be able to recognize Martian organisms as life forms, which may prove to be tricky. They're still arguing over the Viking experiments.
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Probably depends on what the lifeforms are. Bacteria? We'd probably want an exploratory team on the ground to really dig in. Something in the multi-cellular, smaller than an insect area? We've destroyed far larger animal populations everywhere we've colonized on this planet. I'm not sure if our greed would allow us to let go of the Mars dream just because of some silly pre-insects. Heck, I'm not even sure we'd let it go over actual insects.
I do think if any form of life is found it will slow the curre
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Even if there was cute little Martian bunny rabbits, Mars needs to be colonized and terraformed to make it more hospitable for humans.
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I'm not sure I see where greed figures into this. It's simply a lot cheaper to produce any resource on earth than to import the precious few resources available from Mars.
Whatever incentives there are for going to Mars, getting rich isn't one of them. You can expect Mars to be an economic sinkhole for centuries to come.
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The implications of alien lifeform discovery, even if they are simple bacteria, are huge. Colonization would be off the table, or contamination could mean wasting a unique opportunity to study these lifeforms. Mars colonization will not be a discussion point any more, since other discussions would easily dominate: where did they come from, how did they evolve, how do they sustain themselves etc. Several expeditions will be planned that will span decades. Not to mention that the theologians will have a field
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Colonization would be off the table, only for the short sighted. If fossilized remains of primitive life is discovered, all the more reason to create permanent settlements there to house exploration teams, that grow and become self-sustainable cities.
If living biological matter is discovered, or dormant viruses that are somehow still intact, even then we should only be delayed long enough to understand the risks involved in contaminating earth. I'm sure there would still be some brave pioneers that would ta
Oh thank God! (Score:2)
I was fearing that out miscalculations on the condition of mars soil had doomed this mission but I see the intellects at NASA has once again overcome uncertainty from millions of miles away. Honestly, we need more people like those at NASA. Worth every penny.
It may be a bit old fashioned.. (Score:2)
Perseverance and the Rock Cores (Score:2)
Nice name for a band.
Sounds like a gay Euphemism (Score:2)