The first test tube with Martian samples is ready to be sent to Earth

The Perseverance rover dropped a titanium tube containing a rock sample onto the surface of the Red Planet. She

ready to ship.Over the next two months, the rover will deploy a total of 10 of these containers. This will be the first repository of samples on another planet in human history. It is located in the Three Forks region.

Since landing on the Red Planetin February 2021, Perseverance is collecting samples of dust, rocks and even air. Some of them analyze the rover's systems, while others are packaged in titanium tubes for the future Mars Sample Return mission. It is currently in the planning stage.

This animation shows key moments in NASA and ESA's campaign to return samples from Mars.
Credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/MSFC

The first container contains a rock sample,which the rover collected on January 31 in the South Séítah region. After Perseverance ejected the titanium tube, the WATSON camera on the end of the rover's 2-meter robotic arm swung around and photographed the sample.

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