NASA’s Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, analyzing the composition of rocks and collecting rock samples in an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microscopic life. Since July, the rover has collected four rock cores from two rocks at an ancient river delta in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Perseverance is tasked with collecting samples for potential return to Earth by future missions, and it is helping to make progress on the Mars Sample Return campaign, an international collaboration led by NASA and ESA.

Clip 1: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Clip 2: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Clip 3-6: NASA/JPL-Caltech Rock Drill Repair Kit

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Rock Core Drilling Managed by the Mars Exploration Program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate