Goal of Perseverance's mission
is to collect rock samples that will be returned to Earth in a future mission and studied for possible signs of ancient life
The rover is currently
exploring a well-preserved delta located on the western side of Jezero crater on Mars.
Perseverance is busy
examining rocks in search of these key biomarkers.
The most promising rocks
will be cached for a future sample-return mission to carry them to Earth in 2033,
The life-hunting rover is
equipped with a suite of onboard instruments to understand mineralogy and to detect whether organic molecules are present
Choosing a rock that is
just right to sample can be challenging for the robotic explorer. Sometimes, the coring process alone can cause the fragile rock samples to fracture, crack or even crumble