There is probably no other option than to empty the contents of the sample tube and somehow get rid of the stuck stones.

Mars rover Perseverance has been roaming the red planet for a while now. His goal? Collect samples in interesting Martian places, among other things, which can be subjected to a thorough inspection later on Earth. In late December, Perseverance once again stuck its rapidly rotating drill, located at the end of its six-foot-long robotic arm, into a piece of rock the researchers have named Issole. But unfortunately, this sampling did not go completely smoothly.

problem

According to NASA, a problem arose during the storage of the sample. Sensors fitted to the four-wheeled robotic cart registered an above-normal amount of resistance at an unexpected point in the process during transfer from the robotic arm to the carousel containing the sample tubes. Fortunately, the rover did what he was told to do during such a case: stop the procedure and immediately call home for further instructions.

pebbles

The team asked for additional data and images to better understand what went wrong. A week later, Perseverance sent the requested data. What seems? Mars rover Perseverance appears to have choked on rock. The footage reveals that some pebble-sized debris and pebbles have become trapped in the carousel. The team suspects that these came from stone Issole and fell from the sample tube when Perseverance tried to save the sample.

Pebble-sized debris has spilled into the carousel of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Fortunately, the incident does not mean the end of the story for Perseverance. The carousel is designed to function even in the presence of some debris. The team does take the time to find an appropriate solution to the problem. “This is only the sixth time in human history that we have sampled a rock on a planet other than Earth,” team member Louise Jandura wrote in the blog post. “So when we see something strange happening, we take it slow.”

remove

The idea is to somehow get the pebbles out of the carousel again. “We want to dispose of the pebbles in a controlled and orderly manner,” said Janudra. The team has been sparring for a while about possible ways. Ultimately, it was decided to let the carousel roll over. It is expected that these rotations will also move the pebbles that have become stuck. “This will then give us more information on how to proceed,” writes Jennifer Trosper of NASA.

to empty

In addition, there is probably no other option than to empty the contents of the sample tube again. “We are returning the remaining contents of Sample Tube 261 (our newest sample of rock) to the planet of origin,” said Trosper. “Of course we never planned this. But it seems like a fairly simple process: Perseverance will simply point the opening of the sample tube downward. Gravity does the rest.” Why is the sample tube emptied? “We’re not sure at this point how much rock is left in there at all,” Trosper said.

issole

However, the Perseverance team does not give up easily. Because the plan is to just re-sample stone Issole. In addition, they want to take precautions to prevent Perseverance from choking a second time.

New images

But for the time being it remains exciting whether Perseverance can survive on its own hundreds of millions of kilometers away. New images are expected soon. “From there, we will analyze and further refine our plans,” says Trosper.

Incidentally, it is not the first time that the Perseverance team has to endure a significant setback. Unfortunately, the Mars rover previously failed to take a sample from Mars. The rock Perseverance wanted to sample later turned out to be far too crumbly. The rock immediately disintegrated into powder and fine-grained dust, making it impossible to store it in the sample tube. Fortunately, the team managed to figure out the problem and get a new sample. It is therefore likely that Perseverance will also be able to overcome the current hurdle.