Perseverance takes the first sample of an ancient river on Mars

Rover perseverance belonging POT recovered and stored the first sample of his scientific expedition in the upper part of the delta of the Jezersky crater Marswhich is believed to have been an ancient river.

perseverance previously collected a total of 19 samples and three core tubes, and recently placed 10 tubes as a reserve stock on the Martian surface as part of the Martian sample return campaign. Mars belonging POT-WHAT.

Scientists want to study Martian samples using powerful laboratory equipment on Earth to look for signs of ancient microbial life and better understand the water cycle that shaped the Earth’s surface and interior. Mars.

stones in the lake

This latest sample, recovered from rock the science team is calling Vereya, is the 16th rock sample taken on the mission (there are also samples of regolith, or broken rock and dust, as well as Earth’s atmosphere). Mars). The scientific team believes that Berea was formed from rock deposits carried by an ancient river downstream to the site. This would mean that the material could have come from an area well outside Jezero Crater, which is one reason the team finds the rock so promising.

“The second reason is that the rock is rich in carbonate,” said Project Associate Scientist Cathy Stack Morgan. perseverance at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory POT. “Carbonate rocks on Earth could be good for preserving fossilized life forms. If biosignatures were present in this part of the Jezero Crater, it could be a breed that could keep its secrets very well.”

The great mystery is how the climate Mars when this area was covered with liquid water. Because carbonates are formed from chemical interactions in liquid water, they can provide scientists with long-term information about changes in the planet’s climate. By studying the carbonate in the Berea sample, the scientific team could help fill in the gaps.

“The Berea core highlights the beauty of rover missions,” said a project scientist. perseverance, Ken Farley of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “Mobility perseverance allowed us to collect igneous rock samples from the relatively flat crater floor during the first campaign, and then travel to the base of the crater delta, where we found fine-grained sediments deposited on the dried lake bed. Now we are testing the geological site where we found coarse sedimentary rocks deposited in the river. With such a variety of environments to observe and collect, we are confident that these samples will allow us to better understand what happened here at Jezero Crater billions of years ago.”

With this final sample securely stored in a sample tube in the rover’s belly, the six-wheeled rover will continue its ascent up the Lake Jezero sediment fan to the next bend in the dry riverbed, a place the science team is calling “Castell Henlis.” (Europe Press)

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