Soft and crumbly Martian soil could not be collected for study

On Friday, August 6, 2021, the Perseverance rover transmitted data to Earth according to which it drilled on Mars

an 8-centimeter well to collect soil, but the sample tube turned out to be empty. The rover failed to collect samples of the planet's soil during its first attempt.

NASA believes the samples failed due toan unusually soft Martian rock. The engineers determined that the rock was not strong enough to obtain a core sample, or that small powdery fragments remained in the well, or both happened.

The rover is now heading to the next sampling site, looking for signs of ancient Martian life. He should be there by early next month.

Images taken by the rover and itssatellite helicopter show that the sediment there should be much better for sampling, said Louise Jandura, chief engineer of the Perseverance sampling campaign.

This is not the first time that a Martian spacecraftencounters problems due to the ground. Previously, a German excavator from the InSight apparatus was unable to bury itself more than a couple of tens of centimeters. The lumpy soil does not provide enough friction for the heat measuring device, so the experiment failed. 

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