Perseverance and the team recently celebrated one Martian year (668 sols or 687 Earth days) on the Red Planet while continuing to offload sample tubes at the "Three Forks" depot location. The celebration also marked the end of the prime mission at Jezero as the team transitions into the extended mission phase and sets their sights on the delta top.

It has been a fitting celebration and end to the prime mission, as each sample tube dropped serves as a souvenir, reminding of all that has been accomplished thus far at Jezero. It seems like only recently that the first glimpse of the Octavia E. Butler landing site was obtained, the first rock sample at Rochette was collected, or the rover rolled up to the delta front pondering the ancient mysteries these rocks may hold.

While building the contingency sample cache has been the main priority at the depot area, the team has managed to continue collecting valuable science. Remote sensing payloads, including the SuperCam and Mastcam-Z instruments, have been used to characterize the diversity of rocks around the rover and conduct longer distance observations of the delta outcrops. Standard atmospheric observations have also been conducted to monitor the Jezero environment and document wind-driven changes in dust and sand around the sample cache.

Following the completion of the 10th and final sample tube drop at "Three Forks," Perseverance will begin its ascent of the Jezero delta through Hawksbill Gap to begin the next science campaign. The team has been deep in discussions planning the future traverse and observations that will continue to reveal the geologic history of Jezero crater.

The rocks at the delta top will provide important clues into the nature and timing of ancient watery environments and a record of sediments washed down from the crater rim and beyond.

Related Links
Perseverance Mars 2020
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

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Use the Force, Percy!
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 13, 2023
What do you see in the picture above - an abandoned lightsaber dropped by a Jedi Knight, lying forgotten amidst the Tattoine sand? It may look like a scene straight out of Star Wars, but sometimes life imitates art. The apparent "lightsaber" is actually an ~18 cm (~7 in) long sample tube holding a rock core drilled by NASA's Perseverance rover, collected from Jezero Crater, Mars, for potential return to Earth. Instead of a long time ago in a galaxy far away, this little tube was dropped just a few ... read more