
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of a sample cored from a rock called "Bunsen Peak" on March 12, 2024, the 1,088th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission. The image shows the bottom of the core. The image was taken by Perseverance's Sampling and Caching System Camera, or CacheCam, located inside the rover's underbelly. The camera looks down into the top of sample tubes to take close-up pictures of the sampled material and the tubes as they are prepared for sealing and storage. 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. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26313
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
PIA26313
Date Created
April 3, 2024
Center
JPL
Media Type
image
Download this image in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
480px