The
Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z captured images to create this mosaic on August
4, 2022. The car-sized robot was
continuing its exploration of the fan-shaped delta of a river that, billions of
years ago, flowed into Jezero Crater on Mars. Sedimentary rocks preserved in Jezero’s
delta are considered one of
the best places on Mars to search for potential signs of ancient microbial life
and sites recently sampled by the rover, dubbed Wildcat Ridge and Skinner
Ridge, are at lower left and upper right in the frame. The samples taken from these areas were sealed
inside ultra-clean sample tubes, ultimately intended for return to Earth by future missions. Starting with the Pathfinder Mission and Mars Global Surveyor in 1997, the last 25 years of a continuous
robotic exploration of the Red Planet has included orbiters, landers, rovers, and a helicopter from planet Earth.
Image & info via APOD
Image
Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, ASU
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