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Mars 2020 Mission Perseverance Rover

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 * Mission › Rover Update


BLOGMARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER


BLOG | January 07, 2022

Assessing Perseverance's Seventh Sample Collection
Written by Louise Jandura, Chief Engineer for Sampling & Caching at NASA/JPL


Debris in Perseverance's Bit Carousel: Pebble-sized debris can be seen in the
bit carousel of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover in this Jan. 7, 2022, image.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Download image ›

On Wednesday, Dec. 29 (sol 306) Perseverance successfully cored and extracted a
sample from a Mars rock. Data downlinked after the sampling indicates that
coring of the rock the science team nicknamed Issole went smoothly. However,
during the transfer of the bit that contains the sample into the rover’s bit
carousel (which stores bits and passes tubes to the tube processing hardware
inside the rover), our sensors indicated an anomaly. The rover did as it was
designed to do - halting the caching procedure and calling home for further
instructions.

This is only the 6th time in human history a sample has been cored from a rock
on a planet other than Earth, so when we see something anomalous going on, we
take it slow. Here is what we know so far, and what we are doing about it.



Imaging Perseverance’s Sample: This image shows the cored-rock sample remaining
in the sample tube after the drill bit was extracted from Perseverance’s bit
carousel on Jan. 7, 2022. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›



The anomaly occurred during “Coring Bit Dropoff.” It’s when the drill bit, with
its sample tube and just-cored sample nestled inside, is guided out of the
percussive drill (at the end of the robotic arm) and into the bit carousel
(which is located on the rover’s chassis). During processing of previous cored
rock samples, the coring bit travelled 5.15 inches (13.1 centimeters) before
sensors began to record the kind of resistance (drag) expected at first contact
with the carousel structure. However, this time around the sensor recorded
higher resistance than usual at about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) earlier than
expected, and some much higher resistance than expected during the operation.

The team requested additional data and imagery to ensure proper understanding of
the state post anomaly.  Because we are presently operating through a set of
“restricted Sols” in which the latency of the data restricts the type of
activities we can perform on Mars, it has taken about a week to receive the
additional diagnostic data needed to understand this anomaly.

Armed with that data set, we sent up a command to extract the drill bit and
sample-filled tube from the bit carousel and undock the robotic arm from the bit
carousel. During these activities, a series of hardware images were acquired.

The extraction took place yesterday (1/6) and data was downlinked early this
morning. These most recent downlinked images confirm that inside the bit
carousel there are a few pieces of pebble-sized debris. The team is confident
that these are fragments of the cored rock that fell out of the sample tube at
the time of Coring Bit Dropoff, and that they prevented the bit from seating
completely in the bit carousel.

The designers of the bit carousel did take into consideration the ability to
continue to successfully operate with debris. However, this is the first time we
are doing a debris removal and we want to take whatever time is necessary to
ensure these pebbles exit in a controlled and orderly fashion. We are going to
continue to evaluate our data sets over the weekend.

This is not the first curve Mars has thrown at us – just the latest. One thing
we’ve found is that when the engineering challenge is hundreds of millions of
miles away (Mars is currently 215 million miles from Earth), it pays to take
your time and be thorough. We are going to do that here. So that when we do hit
the un-paved Martian road again, Perseverance sample collection is also ready to
roll.


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ABOUT THIS BLOG

These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars 2020 mission team members
who love to share what Perseverance is doing with the public.

Dates of planned rover activities described in these blogs are subject to change
due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication
relays and rover status.

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CONTRIBUTORS+

 * Mariah Baker
   Planetary Scientist, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
   Washington, DC
 * Iona Brockie
   Sampling Engineer, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Sawyer Brooks
   Docking Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Adrian Brown
   Deputy Program Scientist, NASA HQ
   Washington, DC
 * Denise Buckner
   Student Collaborator, University of Florida
   Gainesville, FL
 * Fred Calef III
   Mapping Specialist, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Alyssa Deardorff
   Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Kenneth Farley
   Project Scientist, Caltech
   Pasadena, CA
 * Brad Garczynski
   Student Collaborator, Purdue University
   West Lafayette, IN
 * Erin Gibbons
   Student Collaborator, McGill University
   Montreal, Canada
 * Louise Jandura
   Chief Engineer for Sampling & Caching, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Lydia Kivrak
   Student Collaborator, University of Florida
   Gainesville, FL
 * Rachel Kronyak
   Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Matt Muszynski
   Vehicle Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Pegah Pashai
   Vehicle Systems Engineer Lead, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * David Pedersen
   Co-Investigator, PIXL Instrument, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
   Copenhagen, Denmark
 * Vivian Sun
   Science Operations Systems Engineer, Staff Scientist, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Jennifer Trosper
   Project Manager, NASA/JPL
   Pasadena, CA
 * Roger Wiens
   Principal Investigator, SuperCam / Co-Investigator, SHERLOC instrument, LANL
   Los Alamos, NM


TOOLS ON THE PERSEVERANCE ROVER+

The Perseverance rover has tools to study the history of its landing site, seek
signs of ancient life, collect rock and soil samples, and help prepare for human
exploration of Mars. The rover carries:


CAMERAS & SPECTROMETERS
 * Mastcam-Z
 * PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry)
 * SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for
   Organics & Chemicals)
 * SuperCam

GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR
 * RIMFAX (Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment)

ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS
 * MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer)

TECHNOLOGY DEMO
 * MOXIE (Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment)

SAMPLE COLLECTION
 * Coring Drill
 * Sample Handling System


WHERE IS THE ROVER?

View Map ›


RAW IMAGES

View Image Gallery ›



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Get the Mars Newsletter
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About The Mission
 * Overview
 * Science
 * Technology
 * Quick Facts
 * Landing Site
 * Where is Perseverance?
 * Explore with Perseverance
 * Mission Team
 * FAQs

Spacecraft
 * Overview
 * Rover
 * Instruments
 * Rocket

Timeline
 * Overview
 * Pre-Launch
 * Launch
 * Cruise
 * Landing
 * Surface Operations

News
 * News
 * Newsroom
 * Rover Updates
 * Watch Online

Multimedia
 * Images
 * Raw Images
 * Videos
 * Audio
 * More Resources

Participate
 * Overview
 * You've Got Perseverance!
 * Roving With Perseverance
 * Send Your Name to Mars
 * Sounds of Mars
 * Mars Photo Booth
 * #CountdownToMars
 * Name the Rover

Other Mars Missions
 * Mars Exploration Home
 * Mars Science Laboratory
 * Mars Exploration Rovers
 * InSight Mission
 * MAVEN
 * Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
 * Mars Odyssey







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