NASA's Perseverance drops eight out of 10 sample tubes on Mars

Perseverance, a NASA rover searching for signs of ancient life on Mars and collecting samples of Martian rocks and soil for future analysis, has dropped eight out of 10 sample tubes as it continues to build the first-of-its-kind depot on another planet.

The eighth sample tube contains a piece of sandstone, with clues about the wet environment it formed in. The individual grains within this Martian rock got carried here by a river that flowed in long ago, which means it holds information about what it was like farther upstream. This sample was collected by Perseverance in July 2022.

Another tube drop makes eight out of 10!Reminder: this set I’m dropping is a backup. Plan A: I deliver the samples I’m still carrying (and others still to come) directly to #MarsSampleReturn. But if I can’t, this set alone would be worth sending back. https://t.co/kmo7DMdYxV pic.twitter.com/m8eJLm8M91

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) January 19, 2023

The sample depot being constructed at the Three Forks region of Mars' Jezero Crater is part of the Mars Sample Return campaign, a joint endeavour of NASA and the European Space Agency to collect samples from the surface of Mars and return them to Earth for analysis. By studying the samples collected from the surface of Mars, scientists can gain a better understanding of the planet's history and composition.

NASA's Perseverance rover has been taking a pair of samples from each of its rock targets. As per the plan, the rover will deliver the samples stored in its belly directly to the Sample Retrieval Lander

In the event that the Perseverance rover is unable to deliver the samples to the lander, two Sample Recovery Helicopters, modelled after the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, will be sent to Mars in 2028 as a backup plan to retrieve the samples.