High-fives all around! ✋ Last week, our Perseverance rover collected the first sample of Martian rock, a core slightly thicker than a pencil from Jezero Crater. This core sample, taken from a rock nicknamed “Rochette,” is the first of many samples from the Mars landscape scientifically identified and selected to return to Earth for closer study. They will be safely stored in airtight titanium sample tubes for retrieval. Together with the EuropeanSpaceAgency, we are planning a series of future missions to return these Martian samples of rock and regolith to Earth. Astrobiology, the search for signs of ancient microbial life on other planets, is a key element of our Perseverance mission. In addition to collecting valuable information about the Red Planet’s geology and past climate, Perseverance will help pave the way for human exploration of the Mars. Credit: NASAJPL #NASA #Mars #RedPlanet #Astrobiology #SignsOfLife