Mars has a harsh environment that constantly throws dust storms at spacecraft, “choking” them and hindering operations. But that’s not the only thing that can cause problems for rovers on the Red Planet. Sometimes, debris can get stuck in their components, and that’s a completely new challenge that NASA’s team has to solve.
That’s where Perseverance stores all the equipment that it needs to collect samples, including a rotating drill carousel, which is a wheel with different drill bits. Next to this carousel are 43 sample tubes that await to be filled with fragments of the alien world.
However, something went wrong on December 29th: pebbles blocked the transfer of the drill bit and sample tube into the carousel. As a result, the rover stopped its scientific operations. Since then, the Perseverance team has tried to come up with a solution to remove the obstructing chunks of debris.
Recently, the team commanded the rover to rotate the bit carousel. That effectively removed two of four rock fragments stuck in there. That means there are still two more left. But according to NASA, the way they are positioned does not seem to affect the machine’s operations.
Additionally, the sample tube with the rover’s latest partial core sample was emptied on January 17th. Perseverance used its robotic arm to position the drill with the tube’s open end above the ground and rotate it. The camera on its head captured some of the material that fell out. Luckily, now the sample tube can be reused.
Currently, the team is planning the next steps that must be taken. Hopefully, the rover will resume its operations soon and will get back to drilling into the rocks from the Jezero Crater.
In order to keep #SamplingMars, I’ve emptied my latest partial sample. Watch closely to see one piece of cored rock drop to the surface in this movie. Thankfully, I can reuse this tube for another sample from the same rock.
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— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) January 21, 2022