Perseverance is expected to drop its first sample tube in the next few days.
. On board, 15 tubes contain drilled-out cores from intriguing target rocks, two harbor regolith and one is filled with Martian air. This"atmospheric sample" is the result of Perseverance's first-ever sampling try, whichThe rover team is collecting two core samples from each target rock. Perseverance will retain one set on its body and drop the other set in depots, such as the one planned for Three Forks.
The lander, Mars rocket and ESA orbiter won't launch until the 2027-2028 timeframe, however. Perseverance is in good health, but there are no guarantees that the six-wheeled robot will still be operational when the sample-return hardware makes it to the Red Planet. So mission team members came up with a backup delivery plan, which is where the Three Forks depot comes in., the little chopper that flew with Perseverance to Mars and is currently serving as a scout for the rover.
"Up to now, Mars missions required just one good landing zone; we need 11," Richard Cook, Mars Sample Return program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in Friday's update.
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