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The NASA Perseverance rover the exploration of the river delta that once filled the Jezero crater with water is continuing, turning it into a large lake. An ideal environment for the development of life (especially microbial life) and therefore one of the most interesting objectives for the US space agency and for scientists. For this reason, the discovery of organic compounds has aroused much interest as they could potentially be produced by microorganisms (but also by processes that do not require life). For this, further studies are needed to verify it.
Sample collection for the Mars Sample Return mission (recently modified in its structure) is proceeding apace and from the 12th sample collected in late July we are now at the 14th sample collected in early October. Even more interesting is the fact that the Martian rover in the near future it could also collect Martian regolith. This is a fundamental step as the study of the regolith will serve to ensure a safe environment for astronauts who will visit Mars with human missions (perhaps as early as 2100). The rover has meanwhile traveled 12.85 km and is on the 565 sol planet.
NASA Perseverance will collect Martian regolith to safeguard astronauts
After the sample collected at the end of July (12th), the Martian rover continued its activities by passing to the 13th sample called Bearwallow and extracted from the Wildcat Ridge area (as in the case of the previous one), as explained on the official website. The 14th sample was recently collected, which is located in a different area than the previous four. The sedimentary rock in this case is called Amalik while the sample took the name of Shuyak. However, after the start of the draw it seems that NASA Perseverance encountered a problem sealing the tube, according to reports from the official Twitter account.
But the scientists are already there “looking beyond” while problem is being solved a NASA Perseverance. As explained by the astrobiologist Erin Gibbonsone of the next goals will be to collect Martian regolith. The explanation, as written above, is to protect astronauts when they set foot on in the future Mars. The lunar regolith itself is particularly insidious as the astronauts of the various Apollo missions have learned and on the Red Planet they want to run even less risks for the lives of human beings who set foot on it.
Gibbons herself remembers that it must “Determine if regolith and dust contain biohazards that could be inhaled by astronauts. Mars dust is everywhere and can be as fine as cigarette smoke particles. We need to know if it’s toxic.”.
Furthermore, still looking at human exploration, this dust could represent a problem for the hardware used for the landing. Not just problems though! In fact the Martian regolith it could be used to build structures capable of shielding astronauts from radiation.
Our knowledge of Mars however, it must be expanded before imagining plans. For this it will be necessary to know exactly the amount of radiation that reaches the ground and how much water can be obtained from the ground (without having to bring it from the Earth). Also, a bit like in “The Martian” there Martian regolith it could be used in part or in full as a fertilizer.
Study the regolite it will also allow to date the soils (for planetary evolution) on Mars based on their interaction with cosmic rays. Being formed by various types of very fine rock fragments, it can also give an idea of the constitution of the soil at a local, regional and even global level. Another issue will be linked to the possibility of the regolith to preserve potential fossils as on Earth (better or worse it is to be seen). NASA Perseverance he will once again use his robotic arm but instead of the core bits, versions designed specifically for regolith will be used. We are still tens of years away from the landing of the human being on Mars, but we must be ready.
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