"I've got it!" the space agency tweeted, alongside
a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker than a pencil inside a sample
tube.
The sample was collected on September 1, but NASA was
initially unsure whether the rover had successfully held onto its precious
cargo, because initial images taken in poor light were unclear.
After taking a new photo so mission control could verify its
contents, Perseverance transferred the tube to the rover's interior for further
measurements and imaging, then hermetically sealed the container.
"This is a momentous achievement, and I can't wait to
see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team,"
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science,
likened the achievement to the first samples of rock taken from the Moon, which
are still invaluable to researchers today.
Perseverance's sampling and caching system is the most
complex mechanism ever sent to space, with more than 3,000 parts.
Its first target was a briefcase-sized rock nicknamed
"Rochette" from a ridgeline that is particularly interesting from a
geological perspective as it contains ancient layers of exposed bedrock.
Perseverance uses a drill and a hollow coring bit at the end
of its 2-meter-long (7-foot-long) robotic arm to extract samples.
Perseverance landed on an ancient lakebed called the Jezero
Crater in February, on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life
using a suite of sophisticated instruments mounted on its turret.
It is also trying to better characterize the red planet's
geology and past climate.
The first part of the rover's science mission, which will
last hundreds of sols or Martian days, will be complete when it returns to its
landing site.
By then, it will have traveled somewhere between 2.5 and 5
kilometers (1.6 and 3.1 miles) and may have filled up to eight of its 43 sample
tubes.
It will then travel to Jezero Crater's delta region, which
might be rich in clay minerals. On Earth, such minerals can preserve fossilized
signs of ancient microscopic life.
Eventually NASA wants to send back the samples taken by the
rover in a joint mission with the European Space Agency, sometime in the 2030s.
Its first attempt at taking a sample in August failed after
the rock was too crumbly to withstand the robot's drill.
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