The latest spacecraft from NASA on Mars successfully collected its first rock sample to be returned to Earth, after a failed attempt last month. Adam Steltzner, the chief engineer of the "Perseverance" rover, described the sample as perfect. He tweeted on Thursday, "I have never been happier to see a hole in a rock."
However, a month ago, "Perseverance" drilled into softer rocks, causing the sample to collapse and not enter the titanium tube. The rover traveled half a mile to a better location to attempt sampling again. Team members analyzed the data and images before announcing the success.
Furthermore, "Perseverance" arrived in February at Jezero Crater on Mars, believed to be the site of an ancient lush lake and river delta billions of years old, searching for rocks that might hold evidence of ancient life. NASA plans to launch more spacecraft to transport the samples collected by "Perseverance" back to Earth. Engineers hope to return up to thirty samples to Earth within about a decade.
