Space is full of objects travelling from one place to another, but it’s very rare that they ever get sent back. That’s what makes NASA’s latest launch different, as they return a rock to the surface of Mars half a million years after it left.
Sayh al Uhaymir 008 (SaU 008 for short) is part of a meteorite that was found in Oman in 1999. We know it came from Mars because it contains bubbles of gas exactly matching the Martian atmosphere.
It’s being sent back with the Perseverance rover, which launched last night. We’re not just trying to get rid of it, though – it has an important role to play in the mission.
Perseverance has several jobs on Mars to help humans maybe live there one day. One of these involves testing Martian rock and soil samples. SaU 008 is there to be scanned by the rover’s laser occasionally to make sure all the measurements it makes are accurate.
Lachlan Writes Science 