The NASA Perseverance Rover achieved in his second attempt to pick up a piece of rock from Mars for future analysis by scientists on Earth.
His first attempt, on August 5, failed because the rock was too crisp to withstand the robot drill, but the data received at last September 1 indicate that this time he could do it.
The US space agency announced on Thursday that the images taken after the Rover arm completed the sampling were not conclusive due to the bad conditions of sunlight.
In any case, more images are expected, taken with better lighting, for Saturday.
“The team determined a location, and there selected and extracted samples from a viable and scientifically valuable rock,” said Jennifer Trosper, Project Manager of NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena.
The goal was a rock the size of a briefcase nicknamed “Rochette”.
Perseverance, the last NASA Mars explorer vehicle, landed on the Crater Jezero of the Red Planet in February, within the framework of a search mission of antique microbial life signs.
Its scientific instruments mounted in turrets are able to determine the chemical and mineral composition and look for organic matter, as well as better characterize the geological processes of the planet.
The Rover has a drill and a hollow drill at the end of its two-meter-long robotic arm to extract samples a little thicker than a pencil, which then stores.
In addition, NASA plans a mission to bring around 30 samples to Earth in the 2030 decade. Scientists could thus perform more detailed analyzes in order to confirm if there was microbial life on Mars.
