NASA's Perseverance Rover Collects First Martian Rock
2021-09-09
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1The American space agency NASA says its Mars explorer, or rover, has successfully collected its first Martian rock sample.
2The rover, called Perseverance, used a drill attached to its robotic arm to remove a small, circular sample -- also called a core -- from a larger rock on the surface of Mars.
3NASA confirmed the successful collection in a statement on Monday.
4The agency also released pictures of the sample, which it said appears to be about as thick as a writing instrument.
5After the drilling was completed, Perseverance took additional pictures of the sample as well as the tube it was kept in.
6The images are useful to scientists back on Earth who study the sample.
7In the final step, Perseverance moved the tube to a storage area inside the rover and hermetically sealed the container.
8Hermetic sealing is a process that completely closes off the container so that no air can flow in or out.
9The Perseverance team shared the news on Twitter.
10"It's official: I've now captured, sealed, and stored the first core sample ever drilled on another planet, in a quest to return samples to Earth."
11The tweet added that the sample was "the first in a one-of-a-kind Martian rock collection."
12It was the second collection attempt for Perseverance.
13The first one happened about a month ago.
14In that try, NASA confirmed that the rover had successfully drilled into another rock at a different site on the Mars surface.
15But during the collection attempt, images showed that the sample tube was empty.
16NASA engineers later reported that the rock the rover drilled into must not have been strong enough to produce a core sample.
17So, the drilling operation only produced dust that could not be collected.
18The latest core sample -- and all others collected from now on - will be stored on Mars until they can be picked up during future missions to the Red Planet and brought to Earth.
19NASA says its Mars Sample Return mission -- to be carried out jointly with the European Space Agency -- could have the rock samples back to Earth sometime in the 2030s.
20NASA science officer Thomas Zurbuchen called the successful collection a "truly historic moment."
21The agency's leader, Bill Nelson, also praised the effort and said, "I can't wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team."
22Perseverance landed in February at Jezero Crater, an area scientists believe to be the remains of an ancient river system.
23The high-tech rover is on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.
24Perseverance has been assisted in some efforts by a small experimental helicopter called Ingenuity.
25The helicopter made history in April by becoming the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet.
26So far, Ingenuity has performed above expectations, completing 11 flight tests and helping to identify areas for Perseverance to explore.
27Ken Farley is a project scientist on the Perseverance team.
28He said the latest collection effort marks the beginning of many more to come for the rover, which has 43 sample tubes to fill.
29"There is a lot of Jezero Crater left to explore, and we will continue our journey in the months and years ahead," Farley said in a statement.
30"When we get these samples back to Earth, they are going to tell us a great deal about some of the earliest chapters in the evolution of Mars," he added.
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The American space agency NASA says its Mars explorer, or rover, has successfully collected its first Martian rock sample. 2The rover, called Perseverance, used a drill attached to its robotic arm to remove a small, circular sample -- also called a core -- from a larger rock on the surface of Mars. 3NASA confirmed the successful collection in a statement on Monday. The agency also released pictures of the sample, which it said appears to be about as thick as a writing instrument. 4After the drilling was completed, Perseverance took additional pictures of the sample as well as the tube it was kept in. The images are useful to scientists back on Earth who study the sample. 5In the final step, Perseverance moved the tube to a storage area inside the rover and hermetically sealed the container. Hermetic sealing is a process that completely closes off the container so that no air can flow in or out. 6The Perseverance team shared the news on Twitter. "It's official: I've now captured, sealed, and stored the first core sample ever drilled on another planet, in a quest to return samples to Earth." The tweet added that the sample was "the first in a one-of-a-kind Martian rock collection." 7It was the second collection attempt for Perseverance. The first one happened about a month ago. In that try, NASA confirmed that the rover had successfully drilled into another rock at a different site on the Mars surface. 8But during the collection attempt, images showed that the sample tube was empty. NASA engineers later reported that the rock the rover drilled into must not have been strong enough to produce a core sample. So, the drilling operation only produced dust that could not be collected. 9The latest core sample -- and all others collected from now on - will be stored on Mars until they can be picked up during future missions to the Red Planet and brought to Earth. NASA says its Mars Sample Return mission -- to be carried out jointly with the European Space Agency -- could have the rock samples back to Earth sometime in the 2030s. 10NASA science officer Thomas Zurbuchen called the successful collection a "truly historic moment." The agency's leader, Bill Nelson, also praised the effort and said, "I can't wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team." 11Perseverance landed in February at Jezero Crater, an area scientists believe to be the remains of an ancient river system. The high-tech rover is on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. 12Perseverance has been assisted in some efforts by a small experimental helicopter called Ingenuity. The helicopter made history in April by becoming the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet. So far, Ingenuity has performed above expectations, completing 11 flight tests and helping to identify areas for Perseverance to explore. 13Ken Farley is a project scientist on the Perseverance team. He said the latest collection effort marks the beginning of many more to come for the rover, which has 43 sample tubes to fill. 14"There is a lot of Jezero Crater left to explore, and we will continue our journey in the months and years ahead," Farley said in a statement. "When we get these samples back to Earth, they are going to tell us a great deal about some of the earliest chapters in the evolution of Mars," he added. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. Caty Weaver was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from 21drill - n. a tool or machine used for making holes in a hard substance 22quest - n. an attempt to get something of do something difficult 23mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel 24incredible - adj. unbelievable, exciting or large 25journey - n. the act of traveling from one place to another 26chapter - n. a period of time when something happens 27evolution - n. the way in which things gradually develop and change over millions of years