NASA's Perseverance rover's first effort to collect a sample from Mars' surface didn't yield results. Mission engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are meticulously reviewing telemetry data to determine what went wrong.
Having touched down on Mars in February 2021, Perseverance is now at the core of its primary objective: gathering rock and soil samples for return to Earth, where scientists can analyze them in advanced labs.
The rover's versatile robotic arm carries coring tools and spectrometers to assess rocks' mineral and organic makeup. First, it conducts detailed imaging to select prime sampling spots. The team often identifies a nearby 'twin' rock for preliminary analysis, revealing its composition before coring the pristine sample nearby—expected to match chemically.
The process unfolds precisely: the arm retrieves a titanium sample tube, loads it into the drill bit, and positions it at the target. Perseverance then drills a hole roughly 6 cm deep, extracting a core sample the size of a chalk stick. After imaging and gas measurements to confirm integrity, the hermetically sealed tube is stowed for the eventual Mars Sample Return mission.
On August 6, 2021, the team targeted 'Crater Floor Fractured Rough,' an area of ancient exposed bedrock in Jezero Crater. Telemetry confirmed the drill operated normally, but the sample tube returned empty—no rock or dust collected, NASA reported.
“The sampling sequence is fully autonomous,” explained Jessica Samuels, principal mechanical systems engineer at JPL. “Post-drilling, a probe checks sample volume by resistance. Here, it encountered none, indicating no material was present.”
All systems performed as designed, per preliminary assessments. The likely culprit: the rock crumbled or powdered too finely during coring, failing to fill the tube. Detailed analysis continues to clarify the sequence.
Setbacks like this are par for the course in pioneering robotic missions. Perseverance's predecessor, Curiosity, faced similar surprises with unexpectedly hard or friable rocks during drilling campaigns.
In January 2021, the InSight lander's HP3 'Mole' probe was retired after struggling to penetrate Martian soil. These challenges underscore the harsh, unpredictable Martian environment—but also the resilience of NASA engineering.
This miss isn't mission-critical: Perseverance carries 43 tubes and aims to fill at least 20 over its surface campaign in Jezero Crater.
