Jess Battison
NASA’s Mars rover has made a discovery ‘unlike anything we’ve ever seen’, and it could help scientists have a better knowledge about the planet.
The Perseverance rover has collected a sample with never-before-seen textures, and the rock core has been named ‘Silver Mountain’.
The sample has the possibility to change what we know about the Red Planet, and it has been sealed into a tube so it can be analysed in labs on Earth in the future.
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From its very own X account, NASA's rover wrote: “Now that I've completed my climb out of Jezero Crater, I'm back to #SamplingMars!
“My 26th sample, known as ‘Silver Mountain’, has textures unlike anything we've seen before. I've sealed the rock core in a sample tube so it can be analyzed in labs on Earth in the future.”
At the moment, dozens of samples are being collected from Mars to help better understand its geological history, climate, and to finally determine whether it has ever hosted life.
Last August, the space agency shared the route the rover would take across the planet, revealing it would embark on a 250m climb up the western rim of Jezero Crater before eventually approaching what is known as ‘Witch Hazel Hill’.
The 2.9cm Silver Mountain was collected from Blue Hill.
“This marks our first Noachian-aged outcrop sample, an important milestone in our mission to uncover the geological history of Jezero Crater,” NASA explained.
“Since Shallow Bay-Shoal Brook is the only location along our planned route where this regional low-calcium pyroxene unit was identified from orbit, this sample is a one-of-a-kind treasure for future Mars Sample Return analyses.”
Writing for NASA, postdoctoral scientist Nicolas Randazzo added that the rocks may reveal ‘critical clues’ about past water activity and potential habitability on Mars.
The agency had previously announced that samples (now including the intriguing Silver Mountain) could be returned to Earth as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039 as it deliberates on what method to use.
Former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement: “Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan.”
The agency said a selection would be announced as soon as next year.
The Trump administration’s pick to lead NASA has indicated that Mars will be a priority for the agency going forward.