At the heart of this maze calibration target lies a silhouette of Sherlock Holmes, serving as a reference point for the cameras and laser of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument onboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The picture was taken by the Autofocus and Context Imager on SHERLOC on May 11, 2024, while the rover team was verifying the resolution of an issue concerning a stuck lens cover.
Perseverance rover is on a mission to detect traces of ancient microbial life on Mars, an initiative to support NASA’s exploration of the planet’s historical habitability. The rover is gathering core samples of Martian rock and soil (fragmented rock and soil) with the possibility of retrieving them in the future through a subsequent mission for thorough examination on Earth.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
