NASA Building First Sample Depot For Mars Rock Collection

Photo Credit: NASA

NASA's Perseverance rover has been collecting rock samples on Mars. Now, the space agency is planning how to bring back those samples to Earth. Perseverance is readying itself to build "the first sample depot on another world," according to NASA's statement.

The sample depot is what NASA has named the drop-off spot for some of the tubes Perseverance has already filled with rock and regolith. Collecting them will be the prime goal of Mars Sample Return (MSR), a complex NASA-European Space Agency mission expected to happen in the 2030s.

Delivering The Rocks At Sample Depot

Perseverance will explore Jezero Crater when MSR arrives and deliver the rock samples. The sample depot will also offer another way to collect the rock tubes. Percy has been drilling rocks in pairs to drop one at the depot and keep the other on board.

NASA has finalized an area called Three Forks to set up the sample depot. Choosing the spot was challenging; its site was required to be level and free of rocks on Mars' uneven terrain. Two small, sample-fetching choppers will accompany MSR. These rotorcraft will take cues from the Ingenuity helicopter's design. They will look for a safe place to land and pick up the tubes.

"You can't simply drop them in a big pile because the recovery helicopters are designed to interact with only one tube at a time," said MSR program manager Richard Cook. NASA said the tubes would be deposited in an intricate zigzag pattern at distances of 6 to 49 feet (5 to 15 meters) apart.

Jezero Crater To Be NASA's Prime Target

Percy is expected to start building the depot soon and will spend more than a month to complete construction. The process will also document all the functions to locate the tubes if Martian winds cover them with dust.

Jezero Crater is believed to be once an ancient lake bed where Percy collected rock samples that have volcanic origins and are tied to Mars' history of water. Percy has also spotted organic molecules in some rocks, but scientists will have to test these samples on Earth-based labs to confirm ancient microbial life existed on the Red Planet.

Once Perseverance is done building the depot, Percy will climb on top of an ancient river delta. NASA hopes to find more compelling rocks to get more insights into the planet's origins.