Perseverance’s Backup Rock Sample Tubes Placed on Mars Surface | NASA/JPL

Perseverance’s Backup Rock Sample Tubes Placed on Mars Surface | NASA/JPL

Celebrate the completion of the first sample depot – or scientifically curated collection of rock and soil samples—on another world with NASA's Perseverance rover team. The diverse set of scientifically curated samples could help scientists answer the question of whether ancient life ever arose on the Red Planet. 

On Jan. 29, 2023, the Perseverance rover placed a 10th sample tube on the surface of Mars, providing the NASA-European Space Agency Mars Sample Return campaign a backup option to recover rock and soil samples for potential return to Earth in the future.

Note: In some clips, team members are wearing orange construction hats as a playful nod to the “sample depot construction” that was being undertaken on Mars.

Learn more about Perseverance: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

For details on each of the samples see: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples/

Learn more about Mars Sample Return: https://mars.nasa.gov/msr

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech; ESA; WATSON images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; Mastcam-Z images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: May 4, 2023

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