In fact, scientists are very exited about the investigation, and are eager to see the rover explore the region in greater detail.
The Perseverance rover continues exploring the Martian surface in search of traces of life. Now, the state-of-the-art rover has arrived at its latest location. “Yori Pass” is an “intriguing” area near the base of an ancient delta. It stretches into the Jezero crater that NASA’s Perseverance rover is exploring. JPL reported that researchers have been “eager” to explore the region. The excitement comes after seeing rocks similar to the ones collected by Perseverance in July. Scientists are intrigued by the feature because it is made of sandstone. Sandstone is made up of fine grains that are carried by water and settle before forming stone. NASA-ESA’s (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign began with Perseverance’s cored rocks. The rover cached them in September 2021 as part of the first step.
Mars Perseverance Rover goals
The goal of the Perseverance rover is to find organics and biosignatures in fine-grained sedimentary rocks such as this one. “What’s especially interesting about the Yori Pass outcrop is that it is laterally equivalent to ‘Hogwallow Flats,’ where we found very fine-grained sedimentary rocks. That means that the rock bed is located at the same elevation as Hogwallow and has a large, traceable footprint visible on the surface,” explained Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance deputy project scientist.
Finding ancient life
A science objective of the Perseverance rover involves looking for evidence of ancient life in Jezero Crater (specific patterns, elements, molecules, substances, and features that can serve as evidence). The rover has collected 14 rock-core samples along with an atmospheric sample and three witness tubes. Yori Pass sample collection will be followed by a 745-foot (227-meter) drive to a mega sand ripple to the southeast of its current position. Scientists call the ripple “Observation Mountain” because it is located in the middle of a small dune field where the rover will collect its first regolith samples.
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