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Perseverance Triumphs: How SHERLOC Was Brought Back to Life on Mars

After six months of effort, an instrument that helps NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover look for potential signs of ancient microbial life has come back online. After a mechanical failure halted SHERLOC's operations on the Perseverance rover, NASA engineers conducted thorough testing and innovative f

Their efforts, which included manipulating the rover’s components to free a stuck lens cover, enabled continued exploration and data collection on Mars, focusing on geological signs of ancient life. For the first time since encountering an issue this past January, the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has analyzed a rock target with its spectrometer and camera. Mounted on the rover’s robotic arm, SHERLOC uses two cameras and a laser spectrometer to search for organic compounds and minerals in rocks that have been altered in watery environments and may reveal signs of past microbial life.

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