When the Perseverance rover finishes a drive and is exploring a brand new location, you might even see it create a spherical, shallow gap in a close-by rock. Why does it do that, and the way?
Mars rovers are robotic geologists. They research the rocks round them to grasp how the realm was shaped. Nevertheless, the surroundings on the floor of Mars can dramatically change the outside of a rock. The unaltered rock under the floor could maintain essential clues to the historical past of the realm.
The earlier rovers Spirit and Alternative every had a Rock Abrasion Device (RAT), a high-speed grinder with brushes to take away that weathered outer layer of rock and clear away mud. Perseverance creates abraded patches that look just like those Spirit and Alternative made, however it does so in a really completely different approach.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this picture utilizing its Left Mastcam-Z digicam. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras positioned excessive on the rover’s mast. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Perseverance is provided with a rotary percussive drill and a set of interchangeable drill bits. The sampling staff had the duty of with the ability to acquire cores, acquire regolith, and create abraded patches all utilizing the identical drill.
To do that, the abrading bits have an uncommon tooth sample: three parallel traces of various lengths, organized asymmetrically. When the drill spins and hammers with an abrading bit, that tooth sample creates crisscrossing, nicely distributed impacts within the rock. This chips away the floor and makes a clean, flat patch of recent rock about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this picture utilizing its Left Mastcam-Z digicam. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras positioned excessive on the rover’s mast. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Nevertheless, the newly drilled abrasion is stuffed with cuttings — the mud generated by drilling. The cuttings conceal what the scientists are interested by seeing: the colour and form of particular person grains within the abrasion. Perseverance removes the cuttings utilizing one other instrument on the turret known as the Gaseous Mud Elimination Device (GDRT). The GDRT has a tank of nitrogen fuel and makes use of 4 quick puffs to blow the cuttings away and reveal the recent rock floor beneath.
The rover can then use its suite of devices to check the abrasion. These observations present perception into the formation of the realm, and likewise assist the staff determine whether or not to take a core pattern from that rock.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this picture utilizing its SHERLOC WATSON digicam, positioned on the turret on the finish of the rover’s robotic arm. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech
I began my profession at JPL as a mechanical engineering intern engaged on the design of the abrading bit. Seven years later, I helped drill our first abrasion on Mars. I’m excited to listen to what conclusions the scientists draw from their evaluation, and to see what surprises our subsequent abrasion holds.
Written by Iona Brockie, Sampling Engineer at NASA/JPL.
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