Planet Mars Rover Samples: Hazeltop & Bearwallow (Samples 12/13) | NASA/JPL

Planet Mars Rover Samples: Hazeltop & Bearwallow (Samples 12/13) | NASA/JPL 

Meet two of the Martian samples that have been collected and are awaiting return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. As of June 2023, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has collected and sealed 19 scientifically selected samples inside pristine tubes. The next stage is to get them back for study.

Considered one of the highest priorities by the scientists in the Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, Mars Sample Return would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and provides the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. NASA is partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA) on this important endeavor.

Learn more about Samples No. 12 and 13—“Hazeltop” and “Bearwallow”—a pair of rock cores from a fine-grained sedimentary rock that scientists believe could have good characteristics for preserving signs of ancient microbes, if they were ever present. 

Read about all the carefully selected samples: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples

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

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, as well as be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds

Release Date: June 15, 2023

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