The first of 17 titanium tubes currently filled with Mars’ material collected by the Perseverance rover is now safely resting on the surface of the Red Planet. It will eventually be joined by nine other tiny, light-saber-shaped tubes packed with chalk-sized cores of martian rocks and soil. Collectively, these tubes will form one of several planned cache depots that may eventually be selected for a return trip to Earth.
“Choosing the first depot on Mars makes this exploration campaign very real and tangible,” David Parker, ESA’s director of Human and Robotic Exploration, said in an ESA release. “Now we have a place to revisit with samples waiting for us there.”
Perseverance collected this sample from an igneous rock nicknamed “Malay,” located in a region of Jezero Crater called South Séítah, on Jan. 31, 2022.
To read more, click here.