NASA’s Perseverance rover reached a new area of scientific interest on June 9, after veering through a dune field to avoid boulders that would slow its journey. This change in route reduced the estimated travel time to reach the area, nicknamed “Bright Angel”, and gave the scientific team the opportunity to discover fascinating geological features in an ancient river channel.
The path to Bright Angel
Perseverance is currently in the final phase of its fourth scientific campaign, searching for evidence of carbonate and olivine deposits in the “Margin Unit” area within Jezero Crater. Located at the base of the canal’s northern wall, Bright Angel features light-colored rock outcrops that may represent ancient rocks exposed by river erosion or sediment that filled the canal. The team hopes to find rocks other than the carbonate- and olivine-rich ones in the Margin Unit to glean more clues to Jezero’s history.
The journey along the Neretva Vallis river channel, which billions of years ago carried a large amount of water into the Jezero crater, was bumpy. “We started paralleling it in late January and were making good progress, but then the boulders got bigger and more numerous,” said Evan Graser, deputy manager of strategic route planning at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. “What used to be an average travel of over one hundred meters per Martian day has been reduced to just tens of metres. It was frustrating.”
The Perseverance rover: an ancient river channel on Mars
With the help of the AutoNav self-navigation system, Perseverance covered 200 meters to reach the first science objective, “Mount Washburn”. The diversity of textures and compositions of the rocks at Mount Washburn was an exciting discovery for the team. Among all the rocks, one in particular attracted attention: “Atoko Point”. Initial analyzes indicate that it is composed of minerals such as pyroxene and feldspar, making it unique.
![](https://tech.icrewplay.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/canale-fluviale-1024x476.jpg)
Perseverance then continued north to investigate the geology of “Tuff Cliff” before making the 605 meter journey to Bright Angel. Currently, the rover is analyzing a rock outcrop to evaluate whether to take a rock sample.
Perseverance’s mission
A key focus of Perseverance’s mission to Mars is astrobiology, including collecting samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and will be the first mission to collect and store samples of Martian rock and regolith.
Question for you: What would you like to discover about the Red Planet?
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