Mars Perseverance Sol 330 – WATSON Digital camera: NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this picture utilizing its SHERLOC WATSON digital camera, positioned on the turret on the finish of the rover’s robotic arm. This picture was acquired on Jan. 23, 2022 (Sol 330) on the native imply photo voltaic time of 16:50:41. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The ultimate two pebbles hitching a experience aboard our rover’s bit carousel are gone however not forgotten. I’ll provide the newest on why they're gone after which inform you why we're not forgetting them – or the 2 different pebbles that made our first month of 2022 a busy one.
Affirmation
We had greater than a suspicion the rocks had departed the Perseverance rover on Sunday when imagery of the bit carousel got here down after a brief 16-foot (5 meter) drive to a close-by rocky outcrop. That drive, which happened on the earlier sol, was designed to get us to a small rocky outcrop that may place the rover at an angle that might be helpful for ejecting the pebbles.
To be thorough (as a result of we Mars missions wish to be), we did a full rotation of the bit carousel in each instructions, with the rover oriented in a 13.2-degree roll to the left, and we discovered nothing hindering its progress. We additionally ran the rover’s percussion drill to induce vibration, hoping to shake any potential remaining particles free from the bit holder. Lastly, we docked the drill to the bit carousel and dropped off the bit.
With this final step we're joyful to announce our sampling system is up and operating and able to go, which is an effective factor, since we’re going to make use of it straight away. The science group desires one other pattern from the rock they name “Issole,” so we drove the 16 ft (5 meters) again and are actually within the technique of amassing one.
Perseverance Playbook
As you understand, Perseverance is the primary pattern caching mission on the Purple Planet. We did an excessive amount of testing earlier than we received there, however Mars is Mars. The place is chilly, unpaved, distant (about 205 million miles [330 million km] immediately), and with unexplored, generally uncooperative stuff over each hill and round nearly each boulder. And that lack of cooperation generally extends to the rocks our science group desires to pattern.
These of you who've been following us – and we recognize it! – know that our first try to core a rock was lower than satisfying, with the pattern crumbling earlier than we may accumulate it. However we discovered so much from rock goal “Roubion,”and we modified our playbook to know higher how you can accumulate samples – and from which rocks. This new “pebbles in bit carousel” affair has additionally allowed us to make additions to our sampling playbook. If we encounter an analogous situation down the Martian street, we must always be capable of get again on monitor extra shortly – which is sweet, as a result of Jezero Crater is just superb and I can’t wait to see what awaits us on the opposite facet of the subsequent hill.
Written by Avi Okon, Sampling Operations Deputy Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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