Meet the Mars Samples: Melyn (Sample 19)

Meet one of the Martian samples that has been collected and is awaiting return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. As of early August 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 Sample No. 19 – “Melyn,” the first sample the rover collected after climbing up onto the ancient delta formation in Mars’ Jezero Crater. The rocks in this area were deposited in an ancient river environment, as opposed to the rover’s earlier samples from the ancient lakebed. Due to a type of mineral called carbonate found in this rock, scientists believe this sample could be well-suited to record the signatures of past water history on Mars.

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 19: MELYN

TYPE: SEDIMENTARY

LOCATION: BEREA, UPPER FAN

RACHEL KRONYAK
SCIENCE OPERATIONS - MARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER

Rachel Kronyak: Sample 19 is called “Melyn,” it was collected from the “Berea” outcrop from the upper fan campaign.

This particular sample Melyn is unique because it is the first sample of the upper fan campaign. It's unique also because it represents deposition in an ancient river versus in ancient lake deposits like we were seeing lower down at the Delta Front campaign.

SUNANDA SHARMA
ASTROBIOLOGIST - MARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER

Sunanda Sharma: This sample is interesting because it has a lot of carbonate, which was exciting because we're seeing that story continued across the different regions in Jezero Crater. So we saw some variations in the crater floor than in the Delta Front and now in the upper fan. This can start to tell us about a flow that may have happened or how widespread the water was, or if the crater was filled multiple times with water, like it was filled and then dried, and filled and then dried. How would that show up in terms of diversity and region within the crater?

Rachel Kronyak: This rock was deposited from flowing rivers that carried material from outside the crater into the crater and deposited them along the upper fan here. And so we're interested in learning more about where these rocks came from. And because these were carried in from river channels from outside Jezero, this is the perfect sample to answer those questions.

Sunanda Sharma: This sample is part of the collection on the rover that will hopefully be brought back to Earth.

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