NASA practising on Rum rocks ahead of Mars space mission

America's premier space agency NASA is currently busy honing one of itscrafts. Scientists preparing to examine Martian rocks are using rocks from the Isle of Rum in Scotland to practise various testing methods.

According to a BBC report, Rum's igneous rocks have similar geological, mineral and chemical content to those found on Mars. Nasa's Perseverance Rover, launched in 2020, is currently busy collecting rocksin the Séítah Formation within the Jezero crater on Mars. These rocks are expected to be brought back to Earth by2033.

The Martian rocks could provide clues about how the Red Planet evolved. However, to understand the clues and avoid minimal wastage, scientists are practising on rocks from Rum, the only UK site selected for sampling.

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Dr Lydia Hallis, a geologist and planetary scientist from the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow is currently leading the 'Rum' sampling with the help ofthe NatureScot National Nature Reserve (NNR).

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Lesley Watt, NatureScot’s Rum NNR reserve manager said it was 'fascinating' to learn more about the NASA/ESA mission and how the island was playing a small part in "this truly historic endeavour to find out more about Mars".

“With its extinct volcanoes and dramatic mountains, Rum has always been one of the best places to discover Scotland’s world-class geology, but we didn’t quite realise that the rocks here were of interplanetary significance as well," said Watt.

Meanwhile, Hallis said,“These Rum rocks are an excellent comparison to a specific geologic unit on Mars, the igneous Seitah Formation within the Jezero crater — which is characterised by the mineral olivine, and which the Nasa Perseverance Rover explored and sampled."

Hallis added that although the rocks on Rum were younger geologically, the exposure to Scottish elements had produced roughly the same amount of weathering as produced in the rocks on Mars.

The retrieval programme

The Mars Perseverance rover is the first leg of this international, interplanetary relay team. Its job is to collect and cache samples on Mars. Afterwards, around 2028, a Sample Retrieval Lander is expected to be launched from Earth, carrying a NASA-led Mars rocket and small Mars helicopters. The lander will land near a crater nearby the rover and the rocks collected by Perseverance would be loaded upon the rocket.

"Two Ingenuity-like helicopters would provide a secondary capability to retrieve samples on the surface of Mars. Once the sample cache is launched off the Red Planet, another spacecraft would capture it in Mars orbit, and then bring it to Earth safely and securely in the early to mid-2030s," NASA informed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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