Perseverance rover successfully collects first Mars sample.

NASA's Perseverance rover has collected the first sample of its newest science campaign, exploring the top of Jezero Crater's delta on Mars. The rover has collected a total of 19 samples and three witness tubes, and it recently deposited 10 tubes as a backup cache on the Martian surface as part of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign. Scientists hope to study the samples to search for signs of ancient microbial life and to better understand the water cycle that has shaped the surface and interior of Mars.