NASA to Discuss First Rock Sample Collected on Mars

The U.S. space agency on Friday will brief the media on the initial analysis of the first sample of a Martian rock collected by its Perseverance rover earlier this week. 

NASA confirmed the rover had collected the rock, releasing a picture of the sample inside a collection tube. The rover made a first attempt to collect a sample in early August, but the rock crumbled during the drilling and coring process.  The rover moved to a different location earlier this month where the team selected a rock that held up better.  Over the past week, scientists have been using Perseverance's instruments to analyze the sample and they are expected to reveal what they have discovered at Friday's briefing.