Perseverance rover on Mars bites into layered rocks in hunt for clues of ancient water

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The rover is on a hunt for signs of ancient life.

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Perseverance's robotic arm abrades the surface layer of a rock on Mars in November 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has begun scraping away at an intriguing set of layered rocks that may have formed in liquid water.

"Peering inside to look at something no one's ever seen," Perseverance rover mission managers wrote in a Twitter update Tuesday (Nov. 9). "I've abraded a small patch of this rock to remove the surface layer and get a look underneath. Zeroing in on my next target for #SamplingMars."

The rover has already collected two samples on its larger hunt to search for ancient microbes on Mars. The goal is to get a large set of these collections to place into a cache, and leave behind for a future sample-return mission to pick up.

In photos: NASA's Mars Perseverance rover mission to the Red Planet

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These close-up photos show the drill marks mark on a layered Mars rock under study by NASA's Perseverance rover for possible sample collection in November 2021.
These close-up photos show the drill marks mark on a layered Mars rock under study by NASA's Perseverance rover for possible sample collection in November 2021.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Related stories:

—In photos: NASA's Mars Perseverance rover on the Red Planet
—Perseverance rover confirms existence of ancient Mars lake and river delta
—Bringing pieces of Mars to Earth in 2031: How NASA and Europe will do it

Perseverance, which has been in remaining in place since a solar conjunction temporarily interrupted communications last month, is also on a larger mission to look for evidence on the floor of Jezero Crater and to characterize the geology of the area, among other duties.

The rover hasn't moved very far since solar conjunction, with the odometer remaining at 1.66 miles (2.67 km) for several weeks. But its mission partner, the Ingenuity drone, has already taken to the air again. Ingenuity's aerial photos are meant to provide a wider context for Perseverance's work as the rover zeroes in on potential targets of interest.

Ingenuity completed its 15th Martian flight on Nov. 6 as it continues an extended mission testing out flying in changing conditions on the Red Planet, and assisting a land-bound rover with its work.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.