Mars' Rock Stars: Perseverance's Big Find

The Perseverance rover has been on a roll, discovering a treasure trove of Martian rocks and minerals. This has happened at an unprecedented pace, especially after the rover reached a special spot on the planet. This spot is a large depression called Jezero Crater. Billions of years ago, a lake filled this crater. The rover has been busy collecting samples from the crater floor, the delta of a river that once fed the lake, and various slopes within the crater. It has also been exploring the crater rim, where the variety of rocks has significantly increased. The rover has conducted nearly 100 sampling efforts since reaching the rim, and there is still more to explore. The team behind the rover is thrilled with the findings. They have been working hard to drive and direct the rover. They have been excited about the "whirlwind" of discoveries made in the last four months. In the past, it could take months to find a rock that was different enough to sample. But now, the rover is surrounded by intriguing rocks wherever it goes. This has exceeded their expectations. The rover has been focusing on a slope called "Witch Hazel Hill. " This slope is about 445 feet tall and is located on the western rim of the crater. It is filled with fragmented rocks that were once molten and ejected from underground by meteor impacts. These rocks are mixed with well-preserved layered rocks and others that seem to have been shaped by running water. One of the most exciting finds is a sample code-named "Shallow Bay. " This sample came from a piece that chipped off a solid rock. This rock likely formed at least 3. 9 billion years ago during Mars' earliest geologic period, the Noachian. It may have been broken up and recrystallized during an ancient meteor impact. The rover has collected samples of five rocks, performed detailed analysis on seven others, and zapped an additional 83 with its laser for remote study. The laser is part of a spectrograph, which analyzes the colors of the rocks zapped. Each color can be seen in the spectrograph as a different element. The team is eager to continue exploring Witch Hazel Hill, as they believe it has more to reveal. They will use all the data gathered recently to decide if and where to collect the next sample from the crater rim. However, there is a challenge ahead. There is no concrete plan for how to get Perseverance's samples back from Mars. The sample return mission, which was seen as feasible when the rover launched, has seen its costs rise to $11 billion. This has prompted NASA to begin a complete overhaul of the plan. They are seeking new proposals from industry and academia to find a more affordable and faster way to return the samples to Earth. This is a critical step in understanding Mars' past and potential for life.