NASA says Mars rover sample has textures 'unlike anything we've seen’

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NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected a sample from Mars that has textures “unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”

Known as “Silver Mountain,” the rock core has been sealed into a tube so it can be analyzed in labs on Earth in the future.

Silver Mountain is the Martian rover’s 26th sample. Dozens of samples are being collected to better understand the planet’s geological history, its climate, and determine whether it ever hosted life.

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Earlier this month, the space agency announced that the samples could be returned to Earth as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039. NASA is deliberating what method to use. It said that a selection would be announced as soon as next year.

“Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan,” former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

The Trump administration’s pick to lead the agency, billionaire Jared Isaacman, has signaled that Mars will be a priority going forward.

“Percy” has completed its climb out of Jezero Crater, where it first landed in February 2021. Jezero Crater is a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for microbial life.

Now it is moving over the “Northern Rim,” where it is expected to visit four sites of geologic interest and take several samples.

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The rover has journeyed across more than 20 miles, according to an interactive map that tracks its location and traverse path on NASA’s website. The samples, collected in titanium tubes after the rover uses its coring drill, are also marked on the map.

“This will also prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars,” Nicky Fox, who leads NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said.

The Perseverance rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.