The drilling process was seemingly not the smoothest:
Difficult to tell from CacheCam if the sample tube is full, and we have no animation of the drilling process as yet. Stay tuned!
this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2025
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NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover
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~~As you say 'It is hard to tell', but going by the reflected light inside the tube in one of the CacheCam frame we have at this time, I'm assuming that that core fell out before it reached the imaging station inside the rover. More images needed :)~~
Update Edit after more images arrived:
Looks like I was wrong, there appears to be a small fragment in the bottom of the tube
Unfortunate that we can't retain this small fragment when we gather the next core. We'd have two locations sampled in a single tube.
Also, you weren't wrong about seeing the metallic glint from the bottom of the tube, as it turns out.
I can see why they'd want to isolate cores for return to earth, but I'm sure they'd prefer to have a larger sample. Be interesting to see if they attempt to get a bigger core at this location using the same tube as it basically be the same material, maybe we'll see an attempt to shake that fragment out of the tube before trying again, or seal the sample and move on.
Have they sealed the last sample tube yet? I can't remember seeing images of it being sealed
I guess one option would be to leave this tube unsealed in the cache and decide later to stack another core on top?
Decisions decisions :) Too many choices :)
They haven't sealed sample #29/Bell Island, no.
Was I correct in understanding they're going to seal tubes only when they know they've got something sufficiently compelling? Until they've mapped the broad outlines of the rim and adjacent Nili Planum, I'm sure they won't be sealing anything. At this point, with the hints they've disclosed recently, I'm not sure we properly understand the mineralogy of these lowest layers... well, I don't, certainly.
I'd forgot about the aim to leave the tubes unsealed. Clearly a lot of questions about the geology outside the crater that require further investigation, and with few tubes, it makes sense to be selective. With sample return not close to having a date, I guess they can afford to take their time.