NASA's Perseverance Rover failed to collect rocks to find alien life

Perseverance Rover failed to collect rocks. Know more…

Monday, 9th August 2021

NASA’s perseverance penetrated the surface of Mars, but the initial attempt to collect rock samples for analysis by earth scientists failed in future missions.

NASA on Friday released an image of a small mound with a hole in the center next to the rover. This is the first pit dug by a robot on the red planet.

But the data sent to Earth by the rover after the first attempt to collect the sample and seal it in the tube indicated that no rock was collected.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Deputy Director Thomas Zurbuchen said in a statement: “Although this is not the one size fits all' we expected, there is always the risk of breaking new ground.”

Also Read: Tired of the earth? NASA invites applications to live in a Mars-like habitat for a year.

“I believe we have the right team dedicated to this. We will continue to seek solutions to ensure future success." The borehole is the first step in the sampling process and is expected to take about 11 days. The purpose is to find signs of ancient microbial life that may be preserved in ancient lakebed sediments.

Scientists also hope to better understand the geology of Mars. Mission took off from Florida more than a year ago, and the Perseverance, which is comparable to a large family car, landed in Jezero Crater on February 18.

Scientists believe that 3.5 billion years ago, the crater contained a deep lake where conditions could support extraterrestrial life. NASA plans to bring about 30 samples back to Earth in the 2030s for analysis with instruments that are much more complex than those that can be brought to Mars today.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

Indiatoday