Perseverance's Navigation Camera Captures Sample Borehole

A CLOSER LOOK

This composite of two images shows the hole drilled by NASA's Perseverance rover during its second sample-collection attempt. The images, which were obtained by one of the rover's navigation cameras on Sept. 1, 2021 (the 190th sol, or Martian day, of the mission), were taken in the "Crater Floor Fractured Rough" geologic unit in Mars' Jezero Crater. The team nicknamed the rock "Rochette" for reference and the spot on the rock where the sample was cored "Montdenier." A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken ro

Explore NASA's original image record for credits and available downloads.