NASA ’s Mars Perseverance wanderer acquired this image of its 26th collected rock sampling , named “ Silver Mountain , ” using its onboard Sample Caching System Camera , located inside the rover ’s underbelly . The camera expect straight down into the top of a sample tube to take closemouthed - up pictures of the sampled textile and the metro ahead of waterproofing and storehouse . NASA / JPL - Caltech
NASA is pay back excited about a especial rock that its Perseverance roamer has just scoop out up from the surface of Mars .
“ This sample is a one - of - a - kind treasure , ” thespace representation sound out , referring to a rock-and-roll known to be abundant in low - calcium pyroxene ( LCP ) . This give it one of the most gripping samples of the missionary station to date , as it was taken from the sole site along the planned path where this low - Ca pyroxene area was identified from orbit .
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of its 26th collected rock sample, named “Silver Mountain,” using its onboard Sample Caching System Camera, located inside the rover’s underbelly. The camera looks directly down into the top of a sample tube to take close-up pictures of the sampled material and the tube ahead of sealing and storage.NASA/JPL-Caltech
A stake on Perseverance ’s X account key the sample distribution — constitute Silver Mountain by NASA — as “ unlike anything we ’ve view before , ” total that it ’s sealed the careen core in a sample thermionic vacuum tube that will be transported to Earth for analysis at a previous date .
Now that I've completed my climb out of Jezero Crater , I'm back to#SamplingMars !
My 26th sample , roll in the hay as & quot;Silver Mountain," ; has textures unlike anything we've seen before . I've sealed the rock music core in a sample tube so it can be take apart in research lab on Earth in the future.pic.twitter.com/YqEPZnDnfR
& mdash ; NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover ( @NASAPersevere)January 29 , 2025
NASA called this particular sampling collection “ an important milestone in our missionary work to uncover the geologic chronicle of Jezero Crater . ”
It also marks a return to full - time exploration by Perseverance after it spent the closing part of last year climbing up the side ofJezero Crater , which it ’s been exploring since its dramatic landing there four years ago .
The six - wheeled roamer took three - and - a - half month to dispatch the 1,640 - pes ( 500- time ) climb , taking a few scheduled time out along the way to run out skill observations as part of its ongoing search for sign of ancient microbial life on the distant planet .
NASA is currently consider the best wayto carry out its Mars Sample Return mission , which will attempt to bring to Earth all of the material gathered by Perseverance during the trend of its Mars foreign mission . It ’s a highly complex appendage , as it involves put down a spacecraft on the major planet ’s surface , collecting the deposited sample , transpose them to an orb space vehicle , and then getting them to Earth .
But a successful Mars Return Mission will allow scientists to study the Martian cloth in science laboratory conditions , potentially revealing whether the red planet once harbour life history , as well as telling us more about its geologic history and evolution .
