Mars 2020 Perseverance is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration plan, which also includes Moon-based Artemis missions.
The Perseverance rover, operated by NASA, is well into its second scientific mission, during which it is collecting rock-core samples from features in a region that has long been considered a high potential for uncovering indications of ancient microbial life on Mars. Since July 7, the rover has gathered a total of twelve scientifically significant rock samples, four of which were from an old river delta in Mars's Jezero Crater.
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“We picked the Jezero Crater for Perseverance to explore because we thought it had the best chance of providing scientifically excellent samples – and now we know we sent the rover to the right location,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “These first two science campaigns have yielded an amazing diversity of samples to bring back to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.”
A delta, an ancient fan-shaped structure that originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago at the confluence of a Martian river and a lake, is located inside Jezero Crater, which is 28 miles (45 kilometres) wide. The sedimentary rocks of the delta are now being studied by the intrepid explorer. These rocks were produced when sediments of varying sizes settled in an ancient body of water. Igneous rock, which originates underground from magma or during volcanic activity on the surface, was discovered by the rover during its first scientific mission.
“The delta, with its diverse sedimentary rocks, contrasts beautifully with the igneous rocks – formed from crystallization of magma – discovered on the crater floor,” said Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena, California. “This juxtaposition provides us with a rich understanding of the geologic history after the crater formed and a diverse sample suite. For example, we found a sandstone that carries grains and rock fragments created far from Jezero Crater – and a mudstone that includes intriguing organic compounds.”
The term "organic molecule" refers to a broad category of substances that are predominantly formed of carbon and typically contain hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur are a few examples of additional elements that may be present. Some of these chemicals are the basic building blocks of life, whereas others may be produced by non-living chemical processes. These molecules have been identified as a possible biosignature, which is a material or structure that may represent evidence of extinct life but might possibly have been manufactured in the absence of life.
Past organic detections by the Perseverance rover in Jezero Crater corroborate the 2013 findings by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover in rock powder samples indicating the presence of organic materials on Mars. This new finding, however, was located in a region where a lake formed in the distant past when dirt and salts were deposited there and favourable circumstances for life prevailed. The SHERLOC device found the highest concentration of organic molecules in its examination of Wildcat Ridge.
Caching samples that may contain traces of ancient microbial life is an important part of the Perseverance mission's astrobiology goal on Mars. The rover is the first mission to gather and store Martian rock and regolith, and it will be used to define the planet's geology and previous climate, opening the door for human exploration of Mars.
Spacecraft from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) would go to Mars in the future to retrieve these sealed samples from the planet's surface and bring them back to Earth for further study.
As part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration strategy, which also includes Moon-based Artemis missions to aid in human exploration of Mars, the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission was launch in 2020.
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 "Photo: NASA")
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