Perseverance Cores 'Berea'

This animation shows NASA's Perseverance Mars rover collecting a rock sample from an outcrop the science team calls "Berea" using a coring bit on the end of its robotic arm. The sample was collected on March 30, 2023, the 749th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The images were taken by one of the rover's front hazard cameras. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25689