Mars Rover Begins Dropping Rock Samples for Future Return to Earth
2022-12-26
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1The American space agency NASA's Mars explorer has begun dropping rock samples it collected on the planet's surface.
2A different spacecraft is to recover the samples at a future date and return them to Earth.
3The Perseverance explorer, or rover, landed on Mars in February 2021.
4It has been collecting rock, soil and atmospheric samples at Mars' Jezero Crater area since September 2021.
5NASA officials have said detailed study of the samples on Earth will be important to help scientists understand whether life ever existed on Mars.
6NASA said Perseverance has collected 18 different samples.
7The space agency plans to pick up the collected materials during a Mars mission planned for 2028.
8The joint mission with the European Space Agency would involve a lander spacecraft being sent to Mars along with a small rocket.
9The samples would be loaded onto the rocket to be transported to Earth. If the mission goes well, the samples could arrive on Earth in 2033.
10The samples are kept inside a storage area inside the rover.
11They are kept inside air-tight titanium tubes to be protected from the severe conditions on Mars.
12Most of them will be kept inside a container on Perseverance until the return mission happens.
13But NASA decided to drop 10 of them on the planet's surface in case something goes wrong with the ones kept inside the rover.
14NASA said the tubes dropped on the surface could be picked up by a helicopter-like vehicle and transported to the rocket to be brought to Earth.
15The space agency has already demonstrated that its Ingenuity helicopter can operate successfully on Mars.
16Perseverance collected the samples with robotic equipment attached to the rover.
17The collection operations are led by NASA mission controllers on Earth.
18Perseverance has a drill attached to a robotic arm it uses to collect small, circular rock samples from beneath the surface.
19NASA said in a statement the first sample container was dropped on the Mars surface by Perseverance on December 21.
20The agency plans to drop the remaining nine containers over the next two months.
21Perseverance will be releasing the samples in an area of Jezero Crater known as "Three Forks."
22Scientists believe Jezero Crater contains the remains of an ancient river system.
23NASA considers the area a good place to find possible signs of microscopic life.
24Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, when water flowed on the planet.
25Meenakshi Wadhwa is a scientist from Arizona State University who helps lead the scientific team of the Mars Sample Return program.
26She said the samples collected so far represent a good mix of different kinds of rock and soil found in the area being explored by Perseverance.
27The rover still has more than 20 empty containers that can be used in the collection mission.
28NASA officials said the operation to drop samples on the surface of Mars has been complex.
29This is because the chosen sites must be reachable by both flying and driving vehicles.
30Richard Cook is the Mars Sample Return program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
31He said once the 10 drop areas were identified, the team then had to map out exactly how the rover could effectively get to those places to deploy the samples.
32"You can't simply drop them in a big pile because the recovery helicopters are designed to interact with only one tube at a time."
33The team decided to create an "area of operation" stretching about 5.5 meters for each dropping point.
34The tubes are to be dropped about five to 15 meters apart from one another.
35NASA said mission controllers will be examining numerous images captured by the rover to assist them in deciding where to drop the samples.
36The images will also help the team identify exactly where the samples are in case they are covered in sand or dust before they are collected.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The American space agency NASA's Mars explorer has begun dropping rock samples it collected on the planet's surface. A different spacecraft is to recover the samples at a future date and return them to Earth. 2The Perseverance explorer, or rover, landed on Mars in February 2021. It has been collecting rock, soil and atmospheric samples at Mars' Jezero Crater area since September 2021. 3NASA officials have said detailed study of the samples on Earth will be important to help scientists understand whether life ever existed on Mars. 4NASA said Perseverance has collected 18 different samples. The space agency plans to pick up the collected materials during a Mars mission planned for 2028. 5The joint mission with the European Space Agency would involve a lander spacecraft being sent to Mars along with a small rocket. The samples would be loaded onto the rocket to be transported to Earth. If the mission goes well, the samples could arrive on Earth in 2033. 6The samples are kept inside a storage area inside the rover. They are kept inside air-tight titanium tubes to be protected from the severe conditions on Mars. Most of them will be kept inside a container on Perseverance until the return mission happens. But NASA decided to drop 10 of them on the planet's surface in case something goes wrong with the ones kept inside the rover. 7NASA said the tubes dropped on the surface could be picked up by a helicopter-like vehicle and transported to the rocket to be brought to Earth. The space agency has already demonstrated that its Ingenuity helicopter can operate successfully on Mars. 8Perseverance collected the samples with robotic equipment attached to the rover. The collection operations are led by NASA mission controllers on Earth. Perseverance has a drill attached to a robotic arm it uses to collect small, circular rock samples from beneath the surface. 9NASA said in a statement the first sample container was dropped on the Mars surface by Perseverance on December 21. The agency plans to drop the remaining nine containers over the next two months. 10Perseverance will be releasing the samples in an area of Jezero Crater known as "Three Forks." Scientists believe Jezero Crater contains the remains of an ancient river system. NASA considers the area a good place to find possible signs of microscopic life. Scientists believe if life ever existed on Mars, it would have been present 3 to 4 billion years ago, when water flowed on the planet. 11Meenakshi Wadhwa is a scientist from Arizona State University who helps lead the scientific team of the Mars Sample Return program. She said the samples collected so far represent a good mix of different kinds of rock and soil found in the area being explored by Perseverance. The rover still has more than 20 empty containers that can be used in the collection mission. 12NASA officials said the operation to drop samples on the surface of Mars has been complex. This is because the chosen sites must be reachable by both flying and driving vehicles. 13Richard Cook is the Mars Sample Return program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 14He said once the 10 drop areas were identified, the team then had to map out exactly how the rover could effectively get to those places to deploy the samples. "You can't simply drop them in a big pile because the recovery helicopters are designed to interact with only one tube at a time." 15The team decided to create an "area of operation" stretching about 5.5 meters for each dropping point. The tubes are to be dropped about five to 15 meters apart from one another. 16NASA said mission controllers will be examining numerous images captured by the rover to assist them in deciding where to drop the samples. The images will also help the team identify exactly where the samples are in case they are covered in sand or dust before they are collected. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from NASA. 19_____________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from 22mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel 23drill - n. a tool or machine used for making holes in a hard substance 24air-tight -adj. secured so that air cannot enter 25pile - n. a collection of a number of objects placed on top of each other 26_____________________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? 28We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.