NASA is preparing to bring scientifically selected rock samples back from Mars for the first time as part of the planned Mars Sample Return campaign with ESA (European Space Agency).
Already having gathered 20 samples from the Red Planet, NASA’s Perseverance rover is now poised to enter a new area of Mars’ Jezero Crater and begin collecting samples with the strongest signal of a mineral called carbonate, which on Earth is deposited by liquid water.
In bringing these samples to state-of-the-art Earth-based laboratories, the campaign will help scientists understand how rocky planets form and how potentially habitable environments evolve.