NEW YORK. NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has been exploring the Martian surface for the past three and a half years, is now undertaking a steep climb to the rim of Jezero Crater. The six-wheeled robot began its ascent on Tuesday, aiming to reach the crater’s edge, located 1,000 feet (305 meters) above the crater floor, to collect crucial rock samples.
Since its landing on Mars in 2021, Perseverance has gathered 22 rock core samples from the crater floor, a region that was once filled with water. These samples hold the potential to unlock secrets about Mars’ ancient climate and may even provide evidence of past life on the Red Planet. NASA is currently exploring methods to bring these samples back to Earth for further analysis.
The journey to the crater’s rim will not be easy. The rover will navigate through rocky terrain and slopes with gradients as steep as 23 degrees, making the months-long climb particularly challenging. However, the effort is crucial as the bedrock at the top may reveal vital information about the formation of rocky planets like Mars and Earth.
“The rock at the top of Jezero Crater could contain evidence of past hydrothermal activity, where heated water and minerals once surged through the planet’s crust,” said Steven Lee from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Such sites on Earth, like those in Yellowstone National Park, are considered potential cradles of life, making this exploration particularly significant.
Perseverance, which has already logged around 18 miles (29 kilometers) during its mission, continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience as it undertakes this challenging new phase of exploration.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
