As I recall, MOXIE was a baseline requirement. Perseverance was put into the budget at a time of major budget cuts to the planetary program. I believe that it was OMB that put it the sample collection rover in the budget to ensure that JPL retained its capabilities by having a major project. OMB specified that MOXIE had to be a part of the mission.
Quote from: ccdengr on 04/12/2025 06:29 pmQuote from: redliox on 04/12/2025 05:40 pmHow many tubes have been filled up now?28 of 38 per https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/mars-rock-samples/And so they will go to waste ? to think NASA spent almost 40 years (1977 - 2017) to get MSR funded and off the ground, a bazillion of studies to get the best compromise; then they got the first half of the mission, up to sample caching and then - mission canned.
Quote from: redliox on 04/12/2025 05:40 pmHow many tubes have been filled up now?28 of 38 per https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/mars-rock-samples/
How many tubes have been filled up now?
The OMB thing doesn't sound familiar to me at all, do you have a cite?Mars2020 evolved from the earlier MAX-C mission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Astrobiology_Explorer-Cacher . MOXIE was not competed. It was paid for by the Space Technology Mission Directorate so at least it didn't come out of the SMD budget. See https://spacenews.com/38288mars-2020-rover-to-include-test-device-to-tap-planets-atmosphere-for/
That was a time of shrinking planetary science budgets. A concern was how to keep JPL going without a major project... OMB agreed to include a major new rover mission in the budget to support JPL.
Quote from: vjkane on 05/06/2025 10:18 pmThat was a time of shrinking planetary science budgets. A concern was how to keep JPL going without a major project... OMB agreed to include a major new rover mission in the budget to support JPL.I must have missed the part where OMB was somehow responsible for keeping JPL solvent. That doesn't sound right to me, but what do I know -- I've been working on Mars programs since the late 80s, but I'm not a funding insider.
Quote from: Apollo22 on 05/06/2025 05:49 pmQuote from: ccdengr on 04/12/2025 06:29 pmQuote from: redliox on 04/12/2025 05:40 pmHow many tubes have been filled up now?28 of 38 per https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/mars-rock-samples/And so they will go to waste ? to think NASA spent almost 40 years (1977 - 2017) to get MSR funded and off the ground, a bazillion of studies to get the best compromise; then they got the first half of the mission, up to sample caching and then - mission canned.The samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.
The samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 05/08/2025 05:45 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?
Quote from: vjkane on 05/08/2025 06:19 pmQuote from: Robotbeat on 05/08/2025 05:45 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?Each tube is sealed immediately after it's confirmed that an adequate sample was collected.
Quote from: MickQ on 05/08/2025 09:09 pmQuote from: vjkane on 05/08/2025 06:19 pmQuote from: Robotbeat on 05/08/2025 05:45 pmQuote from: Kiwi53 on 05/06/2025 10:15 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?Each tube is sealed immediately after it's confirmed that an adequate sample was collected.So it doesn’t matter how or by who they are retrieved and how long it takes, the samples will still be pristine and unique.I'm sure that there is some expiration date. Also, scientists and yourself might like this to happen in their lifetimes.
Quote from: vjkane on 05/08/2025 06:19 pmQuote from: Robotbeat on 05/08/2025 05:45 pmQuote from: Kiwi53 on 05/06/2025 10:15 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?Each tube is sealed immediately after it's confirmed that an adequate sample was collected.So it doesn’t matter how or by who they are retrieved and how long it takes, the samples will still be pristine and unique.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 05/08/2025 05:45 pmQuote from: Kiwi53 on 05/06/2025 10:15 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?Each tube is sealed immediately after it's confirmed that an adequate sample was collected.
Quote from: Kiwi53 on 05/06/2025 10:15 pmThe samples won't go to waste.They will perhaps be the only "pristine Mars before human settlement" samples ever collected, or at least one of a very few sets of such samples. They will therefore be scientifically extremely valuable.One day, they will be retrieved, probably IMO by a ground transporter or a hopper from some human settlement.Are they hermetically sealed already?
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling “Krokodillen” that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area has been on the Perseverance science team’s wish list because it marks an important boundary between the oldest rocks of Jezero Crater’s rim and those of the plains beyond the crater.
To date, Perseverance has collected and sealed two regolith (crushed rock and dust) samples, three witness tubes, and one atmospheric sample. It has also collected 26 rock cores and sealed 25 of them. The rover’s one unsealed sample is its most recent, a rock core taken on April 28 that the team named “Bell Island,” which contains small round stones called spherules. If at some point the science team decides a new sample should take its place, the rover could be commanded to remove the tube from its bin in storage and dump the previous sample.
“There are seven empty sample tubes remaining and a lot of open road in front of us, so we’re going to keep a few tubes — including the one containing the Bell Island core — unsealed for now. This strategy allows us maximum flexibility as we continue our collection of diverse and compelling rock samples.”
You line up 59 images for one perfect Mars selfie and a dust devil shows up in the background like it’s trying to go viral.Timing is everything out here!
Important Update: As part of @NASA’s effort to streamline communications, this account will be archived in the coming weeks – but don't worry, my mission isn't going anywhere.For continued access to the latest Perseverance news, images, and science, please follow @NASAMars.
Mars cleans Perseverance and erases its workQuoteJul 6, 2025Episode 222Perseverance is a robotic field geologist observing the aftermath of events that occurred millions to billions of years ago. But it's also a witness to events happening today that have shaped the surface of Mars across geologic time.
Jul 6, 2025Episode 222Perseverance is a robotic field geologist observing the aftermath of events that occurred millions to billions of years ago. But it's also a witness to events happening today that have shaped the surface of Mars across geologic time.
Mars is a dusty place – but every two years, the dust settles. The Perseverance rover's imaging team took advantage of this moment to capture one of the sharpest panoramas of its mission so far!
A few interesting sights here:- The abrasion patch made by the rover is 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide- These tracks are about 300 feet (90 meters) away- This peak is 40 miles (65 kilometers) away!http://go.nasa.gov/4ooKDAD
NASA Mars@NASAMars·On Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 11am EDT, @NASA will host a media teleconference with Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy and experts from the Mars Perseverance mission to discuss the analysis of a rock sampled by the rover.
Scheduled for Sep 10, 2025Experts discuss the analysis of a rock sampled by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover last year. The sample, called “Sapphire Canyon,” was collected in July 2024 from a set of rocky outcrops on the edges of Neretva Vallis, a river valley carved by water rushing into Jezero Crater long ago.Participants in the teleconference include:- Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington- Lindsay Hays, Senior Scientist for Mars Exploration, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters- Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance Project Scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California- Joel Hurowitz, planetary scientist, Stony Brook University, New York
NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy@SecDuffyNASA·🚨Watch at 11:00 a.m. eastern TODAY as we announce a new discovery on Mars! ⬇️
Eric Berger@SciGuySpace·2mHere's what NASA's telecon on Martian rocks is all about.
Ryan Caton@dpoddolphinpro·BREAKING: @NASA reveals details on Leopard-spotted Rock discovered last summer by the Perseverance Rover. @NASAScienceAA: "We think they are potentially made by some sort of ancient life".It could be the signature of a leftover meal which was excreted by a microbe.Key word: signature - a leftover sign. It’s not life itself. It could’ve been from ancient life, billions of years ago. This is the closest we’ve come to discovering ancient life on Mars.📷 NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
