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After six months of effort, an instrument that helps the Mars rover look for potential signs of ancient microbial life has come back online.<\/em><\/p>\n The SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument aboard NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover has analyzed a rock target with its spectrometer and camera for the first time since encountering an issue this past January. The instrument plays a key role in the mission\u2019s search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. Engineers at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed on June 17 that the instrument succeeded in collecting data.<\/p>\n \u201cSix months of running diagnostics, testing, imagery and data analysis, troubleshooting, and retesting couldn\u2019t come with a better conclusion,\u201d said SHERLOC principal investigator Kevin Hand of JPL.<\/p>\n Mounted on the rover\u2019s robotic arm, SHERLOC uses two cameras and a laser spectrometer to search for organic compounds and minerals in rocks that have been altered in watery environments and may reveal signs of past microbial life. On Jan. 6, a movable lens cover designed to protect the instrument\u2019s spectrometer and one of its cameras from dust became frozen in a position that prevented SHERLOC from collecting data.<\/p>\n Analysis by the SHERLOC team pointed to the malfunction of a small motor responsible for moving the protective lens cover as well as adjusting focus for the spectrometer and the Autofocus and Context Imager (ACI) camera. By testing potential solutions on a duplicate SHERLOC instrument at JPL, the team began a long, meticulous evaluation process to see if, and how, the lens cover could be moved into the open position.<\/p>\n Among many other steps taken, the team tried heating the lens cover\u2019s small motor, commanding the rover\u2019s robotic arm to rotate the SHERLOC instrument under different orientations with supporting Mastcam-Z imagery, rocking the mechanism back and forth to loosen any debris potentially jamming the lens cover, and even engaging the rover\u2019s percussive drill to try jostling it loose. On March 3, imagery returned from Perseverance showed that the ACI cover had opened more than 180 degrees, clearing the imager\u2019s field of view and enabling the ACI to be placed near its target.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the cover out of the way, a line of sight for the spectrometer and camera was established. We were halfway there,\u201d said Kyle Uckert, SHERLOC deputy principal investigator at JPL. \u201cWe still needed a way to focus the instrument on a target. Without focus, SHERLOC images would be blurry and the spectral signal would be weak.\u201d<\/p>\n Like any good ophthalmologist, the team set about figuring out SHERLOC\u2019s prescription. Since they couldn\u2019t adjust the focus of the instrument\u2019s optics, they relied on the rover\u2019s robotic arm to make minute adjustments in the distance between SHERLOC and its target in order to get the best image resolution. SHERLOC was commanded to take pictures of its calibration target so that the team could check the effectiveness of this approach.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rover\u2019s robotic arm is amazing. It can be commanded in small, quarter-millimeter steps to help us evaluate SHERLOC\u2019s new focus position, and it can place SHERLOC with high accuracy on a target,\u201d said Uckert. \u201cAfter testing first on Earth and then on Mars, we figured out the best distance for the robotic arm to place SHERLOC is about 40 millimeters,\u201d or 1.58 inches. \u201cAt that distance, the data we collect should be as good as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Confirmation of that fine positioning of the ACI on a Martian rock target came down on May 20. The verification on June 17 that the spectrometer is also functional checked the team\u2019s last box, confirming that SHERLOC is operational.<\/p>\n \u201cMars is hard, and bringing instruments back from the brink is even harder,\u201d said Perseverance project manager Art Thompson of JPL. \u201cBut the team never gave up. With SHERLOC back online, we\u2019re continuing our explorations and sample collection with a full complement of science instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n Perseverance is in the later stages of its fourth science campaign, looking for evidence of carbonate and olivine deposits in the \u201cMargin Unit,\u201d an area along the inside of Jezero Crater\u2019s rim. On Earth, carbonates typically form in the shallows of freshwater or alkaline lakes. It\u2019s hypothesized that this also might be the case for the Margin Unit, which formed over 3 billion years ago.<\/p>\n A key objective of Perseverance\u2019s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.<\/p>\n The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA\u2019s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes\u00a0Artemis\u00a0missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.<\/p>\n For more about Perseverance:<\/p>\n science.nasa.gov\/mission\/mars-2020-perseverance<\/p>\n DC Agle Karen Fox \/ Charles Blue 2024-091<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov<\/p>\n
NASA Headquarters
202-385-1600 \/ 202-802-5345
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov\u00a0\/\u00a0charles.e.blue@nasa.gov<\/p>\n