After months of driving, Perseverance has finally arrived at ‘Bright Angel’, discovering oddly textured rock unlike any the rover has seen before. The team now plans to drive up the slope to uncover the origin of this rock sequence and its relationship to the margin unit.

Having completed a survey of the intriguing and diverse boulders at 'Mount Washburn,’ the rover headed north, parking just in front of an exposure of layered light toned rock. This provided the team with our first close-up look of the rocks that make up the ‘Bright Angel’ exposure, so Perseverance stopped to acquire images, before driving west to a larger and more accessible outcrop where the rover will conduct detailed exploration.

Perseverance arrived at the base of this outcrop on sol 1175, and geologists on the science team were mesmerized by the strange textures of the light toned rocks found there. These rocks are filled with sharp ridges that resemble the mineral veins found at the base of the fan, but there appears to be more of them here. Additionally, some rocks are densely packed with small spheres, and we’ve jokingly referred to this as a ‘popcorn’-like texture. Together, these features suggest that groundwater flowed through these rocks after they were laid down. Next, Perseverance will gradually ascend up the rock exposure, taking measurements as it goes. Over the weekend, the abrasion tool will be used to take a close-up look and acquire detailed chemical information using the instruments on the rover’s arm. With this data in hand, the team will decide whether or not to sample. Once our exploration at ‘Bright Angel’ is complete, we will drive south back across Neretva Vallis and explore a site called ‘Serpentine Rapids’.

Written by Athanasios Klidaras, Ph.D. Student at Purdue University

Heavily stretched SHERLOC-WATSON image of the latest abrasion patch.

Diameter is ~5 cm, 2 inches

Acquired - June 14, 2024 (Sol 1179) - Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Drive North (~30 meters)

End of drive tiled L-NavCam - The drive was ~30 meters (98.5ft)

The light toned bedrock is 'Bright Angel'. Possibly the oldest rocks in the crater. It was selected for investigation prior to landing.

When the rover is finished at this location it will begin the drive out of the crater...

NASA/JPL-Caltech

R-MastCam-Z (zoom 63mm)

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Bright Rocks and “Bright Angel” - Perseverance Rover mission update, June 10, 2024.

Last week the Perseverance rover descended into Neretva Vallis, an ancient river channel that brought water into Jezero Crater billions of years ago. Rocks found in Neretva Vallis could have come from far upstream, giving us the opportunity to examine material which may have come from many kilometers away. Turning north into the channel has allowed us to complete longer drives, a refreshing change of pace from the rugged terrain we tackled in the Western Margin.

Dodging dunes at Dunraven Pass, we approached Mount Washburn, an outcrop which our Mastcam-Z camera identified from a distance as having spectrally diverse boulders and patches of lighter-toned bedrock. Upon arriving, we were amazed by the variety of colors and textures in the rocks around the rover and immediately got to work planning observations with our remote sensing instruments. Much of our focus was on “Atoko Point”, a bright boulder with dark speckles. After acquiring numerous Mastcam-Z multispectral images and zapping Atoko Point with our SuperCam laser, we began to look towards our next goal: “Bright Angel”. This exposure of light-toned rock, northwest of our current location, stands out vividly in orbital imagery. By examining outcrops at Bright Angel and assessing stratigraphic relationships (i.e. the vertical sequence and stacking of different sets of rocks), it is hoped that we can understand its connection to Neretva Vallis and the crater rim.

Intrigued by what we have found at Mount Washburn, our first stop in the channel, we have now turned to the terrain to the north, where we will add yet another chapter to Perseverance’s story at “Bright Angel”.

Written by Henry Manelski, PhD Student at Purdue University

Source (with all the links and the original raw image): https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/bright-rocks-and-bright-angel/

These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public.

Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech (PH)

Mars Guy - Episode 166 In its search for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars, Perseverance collected the most promising samples early in the mission at a place affectionately known as the bacon strip. Now it may have come across another one.

SuperCam & Mastcam-Z | Sol 1164 This image is a combination of one 110mm Mastcam-Z image and three SuperCam RMI images taken on Sol 1167.

I recommend to download the full resolution image, otherwise you won't be able to see the full resolution from SuperCam.

The images were color processed to approximately match what the human eye would see.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Simeon Schmauß & Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/Simeon Schmauß

Full resolution on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/semeion/53764409540/sizes/o/

Faced with weeks of driving across treacherous rocks or a shortcut across a potential sand trap, Perseverance broke on through the sand and found an island littered with rocks like none ever seen before on Mars.

Processed images available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/semeion/

L-MastCam-Z - NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

end of drive NavCam shows the tracks in the ancient river valley - credits : NASA/JPL-Caltech

R-MastCam-Z, zoomed at 63mm, acquired on sol 1152 after a drive to site 52.4312. The map has not been updated yet, nor has the JSON drive data been released (probably because of the holiday in the US), but it looks like a long drive.

Episode 164 - Soft Martian sand has turned back one rover, trapped another, and killed a third. Now Perseverance has the option to drive through large sand ripples or across treacherous rocks to reach its next science target. So which is the better choice?

This photo was selected by public vote and featured as "Image of the Week" for Week 171 (May 19 - 25, 2024) of the Perseverance rover mission on Mars. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Right Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. This image was acquired on May 24, 2024 (Sol 1159) at the local mean solar time of 09:14:47. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

end-of-drive NavCam looking East - NASA/JPL-Caltech

Middle of the frame, about one third of the way from the right side. Distance from the rover on sol 1152 was 636 meters (2068 ft)

End-of-drive tiled NavCam. Elevation change -6.8 meters

End-of-drive tiled NavCam

post drive tiled NavCam. Located on the south bank of Neretva Vallis. NASA/JPL-Caltech

screen grab from https://mars.nasa.gov/maps/location/?mission=M20

NASA/JPL-Caltech