NASA's Perseverance Mars rover suffers anomaly; teams working on fix to seal latest rock sample

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is struggling to seal its latest rock sample, which was collected at the base of Jezero's delta from an outcrop called "Amalik", the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said on Thursday.

The mission team is making progress in identifying and implementing a fix that will allow a seal to cap off the rock sample. According to NASA-JPL, the anomaly first appeared on October 5 after the successful coring of the mission's 14th sample, when the seal assigned to cap the rock-core-filled sample tube did not release as expected from its dispenser.

Still working on a fix to seal my latest rock sample. With my bore sweeping tool, I'm aiming to clean the tube opening to remove any dust preventing the seal. Results look promising, so meanwhile I'm off to explore a new place called "Yori Pass."​​Blog: https://t.co/CIY298Z23U pic.twitter.com/Af3oVxaobr

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) November 4, 2022

The team suspects that one of the possible causes of the seal's non-deployment may be Martian dust adhered to a location on the tube's interior surface where the dust could impede successful coupling and extraction. To test the hypothesis that dust was impeding progress, the rover's engineering team employed the Sampling and Caching System's Bore Sweeping Tool for the first time. The tool is designed to clean the inner surface near the tube's opening and also move the collected rock sample further down into the tube.

"Data collected after multiple uses of the tool indicates it pushed at least some of the dust that was lining the inner periphery deeper into the sample tube, and as a result, the amount of force required to insert the seal into the tube during additional sealing attempts was diminished," the team said in a post.

Despite this anomaly, the Perseverance rover remains healthy and stable. The team has decided to drive further north and explore an area called "Yori Pass".