Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2021 August 28 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Mars Rock Rochette Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech Explanation: Taken on mission sol 180 (August 22) this sharp image from a Hazard Camera on the Perseverance rover looks out across a rock strewn floor of Jezero crater on Mars. At 52.5 centimeters (21 inches) in diameter, one of the rover's steerable front wheels is at lower left in the frame. Near center is a large [5]rock nicknamed Rochette. Mission planners don't want to avoid Rochette though. [6]Instead Perseverance will be instructed to reach out with its 2 meter long robotic arm and [7]abrade the rock's surface, to determine whether it has a consistency suitable for obtaining a sample, slightly thicker than a pencil, using the rover's coring bit. Samples collected by Perseverance would be returned to Earth by a future Mars mission. Tomorrow's picture: large rocks in space __________________________________________________________________ [8]< | [9]Archive | [10]Submissions | [11]Index | [12]Search | [13]Calendar | [14]RSS | [15]Education | [16]About APOD | [17]Discuss | [18]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [19]Robert Nemiroff ([20]MTU) & [21]Jerry Bonnell ([22]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [23]Specific rights apply. [24]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [25]ASD at [26]NASA / [27]GSFC & [28]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2108/PIA24767.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 5. https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/26193/perseverance-team-selects-a-new-rock-to-abrade/ 6. https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9022/nasas-perseverance-plans-next-sample-attempt/ 7. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/327/why-and-how-perseverance-abrades-rocks/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210827.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 12. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 17. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210828 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210829.html 19. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 20. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 22. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 24. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 25. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 26. https://www.nasa.gov/ 27. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 28. http://www.mtu.edu/