"SHERLOC Instrument Evaluation on Perseverance Rover by NASA Team"
Engineers are addressing a partially open dust cover on the SHERLOC instrument, which is hindering data collection operations on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The cover's position prevents the instrument from using its laser on rock targets and collecting spectroscopy data, but imaging microscopy can still be acquired. The rover, now beyond its initial prime mission, is heading to explore an area called “Beehive Geyser” and has been providing rich data on rock targets. Perseverance’s mission includes astrobiology, characterizing Mars’ geology and climate, preparing for human exploration, and collecting and caching Martian rock and regolith for future analysis on Earth.