Mars rover conquers stubborn rock, bags ancient sample

After a failed attempt over a year ago, NASA's Perseverance rover has finally succeeded in drilling and collecting a rock sample from Mars. The rover's previous target, a rock nicknamed 'Badger Peak,' was too hard to core, so the team drove about 100 meters to a new patch of similar light-toned rocks. They chose a flatter rock, used a sharper drill bit, and this time the drill penetrated 3.1 centimeters. The newly collected rock core, named 'Singita,' is Perseverance's first successful sample in more than a year.

The new sample, while the newest in the rover's collection, may be among the oldest rocks it has ever encountered. Textures suggest it likely formed deep in Mars's crust and was later excavated by massive asteroid impacts. With the rover remaining healthy and operational, this success demonstrates the team's problem-solving skills and paves the way for collecting more scientifically valuable samples that could one day be returned to Earth for analysis.