NASA studies Mars rover sample collection failure
CBSN
The Perseverance Mars rover, making its first attempt to collect a rock sample from the floor of Jezero Crater, drilled into a targeted rock as planned Friday, but photos and telemetry indicate nothing was captured, possibly due to the nature of the targeted formation.
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are reviewing data from the rover to figure out why the initial sample collection attempt was "not the 'hole-in-one' we hoped for," said NASA science chief Thomas Zurbuchen. "There is always risk with breaking new ground," he said in a statement. "I'm confident we have the right team working this, and we will persevere toward a solution to ensure future success."Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.