Meet the Mars Samples: Swift Run and Skyland (Samples 10 and 11)

Meet two of the Martian samples that have been collected and are awaiting return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. As of late June 2023, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has collected and sealed 20 scientifically selected samples inside pristine tubes. The next stage is to get them back for study.

Considered one of the highest priorities by the scientists in the Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, Mars Sample Return would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and provides the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. NASA is teaming with ESA (European Space Agency) on this important endeavor.

Learn more about Samples No. 10 and 11 – “Swift Run” and “Skyland,” the first rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover from an ancient river delta environment on Mars. Scientists are particularly excited about studying such sedimentary rock samples up close because they form through interaction with liquid water and may have good potential for preserving signs of ancient life.

Read about all the carefully selected samples: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples

Learn more about the Mars Sample Return campaign: https://mars.nasa.gov/msr

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover characterizes the planet's geology and past climate, paves the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and is the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

TRANSCRIPT

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MARS ROCK SAMPLES

SAMPLE 10 & 11: SWIFT RUN & SKYLAND

TYPE: SEDIMENTARY

LOCATION: SKINNER RIDGE, DELTA FRONT

SUNANDA SHARMA
ASTROBIOLOGIST - MARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER

Sunanda Sharma: Sample 10 is called “Swift Run'' and sample 11 is “Skyland” and we got them from a rock called “Skinner Ridge” in the Delta Front. These samples were really interesting because they're the first ones from the Delta front. So we're out of the crater floor, we're into the Delta front. And what made this rock particularly interesting is carbonate was everywhere.

This was like a carbonate rock. And so in a lot of the other rocks we looked at previously, there was variation across even a small area. There were all of these different minerals sort of clustered together. In this rock, you could see that there was textural variation, so you could see different grains, but this carbonate single was really, really strong.

And carbonate is that mineral that shows evidence of water alteration of rocks, especially in a possibly habitable environment.

Out of this pair we dropped Skyland at our Three Forks example depot. Deltas on earth are really good places for habitability and astrobiology studies because they can preserve signs of life for a really long time and they're usually hotbeds of life activity. And carbonate minerals, which is something that we saw really strongly in these samples, they can preserve organics and signs of life for a very long time.

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For more information on Mars Rock Samples: mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples