(CNN) The Perseverance rover took a well-deserved break in October during solar conjunction, but it's back to investigating intriguing rocks in Jezero Crater on Mars. Solar conjunction -- a period when the sun is between Earth and Mars -- began on October 2, which halted NASA's communications with the rover. Perseverance is scraping rocks to reveal things humans have never seen before on another planet. One of the rover's key goals is to collect samples from rocks and dirt on Mars that will be returned to Earth by future missions. The rover has an abrading tool on its robotic arm that can scrape away at rock layers to take a look inside these rocks.

Source: CNN November 12, 2021 08:13 UTC