The search for life on Mars: the Perseverance rover collected the first sample of a Martian rock (photo)

The Perseverance rover has begun a new phase of its scientific mission to collect samples on Mars. In order to achieve this goal, he went to a new region - the top of the delta of an ancient river. According to information published by NASA on its website, the rover has already successfully preserved the first sample of rock, which probably got into this region with the flow of the river.

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The rover is now operating in the geological and climatic context of Mars' past, but its key mission is an astrobiological mission to collect samples on the planet that contain possible signs of ancient Martian life.

"Perseverance" is sent to explore the new region of the Lake crater, where it landed. This time, the rover is heading to a region believed to be the top of an ancient Martian river delta, where it has already collected its first sample from a rock called "Berea".

Berea is a sedimentary rock that mission researchers believe was swept into the Perseverance Rover region by river flow, so it may not have come from Lake Crater. It is estimated to contain carbonates that may help track changes in the Martian climate, as well as preserve biosignatures. The rover drilled a core 6.04 centimeters high in Berea and has already preserved it in the storage system.

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Perseverance continues to move through the sedimentary layer at the top of the delta, collecting additional rock samples that may contain traces of biological activity.

NASA researchers hope that collecting samples on Mars will help in understanding the possible existence of life on this planet in the past or even today. After collecting the samples, Perseverance plans to leave them on Mars, and later another NASA mission will take them back to Earth for further research in a laboratory.

This will be the first time that samples from Mars will be brought to Earth. The Perseverance mission is part of a larger NASA program to explore Mars and prepare for future human missions to the planet.

Previously, NASA showed a picture of mysterious deposits in craters on Mars, taken by the HiRise apparatus of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Also earlier, NASA showed a photo of the sun's rays on Mars breaking through the clouds.

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