NASA has officially begun colonization efforts on Mars, the organization announced in a press release.
The Perseverance Mars Rover on Wednesday left a titanium tube containing a rock sample on the surface of Mars, NASA wrote. Ten tubes will be dropped at a location called “Three Forks” as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign, a comprehensive study developed and conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Perseverance currently holds 17 samples, the first of which was collected in January 2022, NASA continued. The purpose of the project is to study astrobiology, including searches for ancient life, even if microbial. The rover is set to identify Mars’ geology and past climate, as well as to collect valuable data required for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Not one to brag, but this is pretty momentous. By dropping this one tube to the ground, I’ve officially started setting aside samples that Mars Sample Return could bring back to Earth someday.
Learn more: https://t.co/abNfyxE8Cy pic.twitter.com/SkjzFIn6Kd
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 21, 2022
Once all the samples have been deposited across the planet, a spacecraft will be sent to collect them and return them to Earth for analysis, NASA continued.
“Not one to brag, but this is pretty momentous. By dropping this one tube to the ground, I’ve officially started setting aside samples that Mars Sample Return could bring back to Earth someday,” the team wrote on Perseverance’s Twitter page. (RELATED: Scientists Stunned By What They’re Seeing In New Images Of Deep Space)
Research focused on the Red Planet has ramped up in recent years, with a wealth of discoveries seemingly being made every week. In May, NASA finally explained the “alien door” seen in images captured from the Curiosity rover on Mars, but there is still so much yet to know about our solar neighbor.