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This is the case of the disappearing Martian rock !
On Monday, the Perseverance Mars rover drilled a hole into a rock on Mars so that the sample could be sent back to Earth and analyzed for signs of alien life. The rover did in fact drill the hole and create a sample but that sample has vanished! Poof!
“The initial thinking is that the empty tube is more likely a result of the rock target not reacting the way we expected during coring, and less likely a hardware issue with the Sampling and Caching System,” said Jennifer Trosper, project manager for Perseverance. “Over the next few days, the team will be spending more time analyzing the data we have, and also acquiring some additional diagnostic data to support understanding the root cause for the empty tube.”
NASA confirms that the rock has a drill hole in it so the drilling happened like it was supposed to but the sample is just not there. It’s like a vitamin you drop on the bathroom floor. Gone forever!
