Mars occupies a very special place in our hearts. Mainly because of all the other planets in the Solar System, Mars is probably the place where we'll find some tantalizing clues or maybe even evidence of prehistoric life. NASA's Perseverance Rover has been scouring Jezero Crater for evidence that it was once hospitable to life. To that end, it has been collecting not only rock samples but also air samples, and scientists are eager to get their hands on them.
The Mars Perseverance Rover is part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was launched on July 30, 2020, and successfully landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. The site was chosen because it is a dry river bed and, if there is any evidence of ancient primitive life on Mars, it is a probable place. Perseverance is equipped with a host of instruments, including a drone called Ingenuity, to study the planet.
An interesting element of the mission is the collection of rock samples as part of the Mars Sample Return Campaign. To date, twenty-four core samples have been collected and deposited on the surface, ready to be collected by a future mission. But not only rock samples have been collected. Known as “headspace”, there is air in the space around rock samples and it is this that has scientists excited.
Not only the rocks hold secrets about Mars, but also its atmosphere. It is an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, but is expected to also have traces of other gases. Information about the current climate can be obtained from trapped gases, but it is also possible to learn about the evolution of the atmosphere through the analysis of rocks. There is one particularly important tube that has been completely filled with gas from the atmosphere.
Since the sample will remain on the surface of Mars for many years, the trapped gas will interact with the rock in the sample tube. Only when the tubes open when they arrive back here on Earth will the interaction cease. It is hoped to understand more about water vapor levels near the Martian surface.
Not only is the water vapor of interest, but also the trace gas levels. By analyzing gas samples we can know if there are gases such as neon, argon and xenon that are not reactive gases. Because these gases do not react, the presence of samples in the tubes may suggest that Mars has an atmosphere. We know that it had a much thicker atmosphere in the past, but we don't know if it was always there or if it developed later.
There are many benefits to be gained from analyzing the samples, including the prevalence of dust that will aid future human exploration. As Justin Simon of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston said: “The gas samples have a lot to offer Mars scientists, even those who don't study Mars would be interested because they will shed light on how the planet forms and evolves.” “.
Fountain : Why scientists are intrigued by the air in NASA's Mars sample tubes
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