NASA's Perseverance rover carries spacesuit swatches to test how abrasive Martian dust is

Summary

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance carries small swatches of spacesuit material among its sensors, cameras and navigation tools. Each swatch is less than a square inch (6.5 square centimeters). Scientists are using them to assess the potential damage caused by the dust that covers Mars. According to phys.org, the samples suggest Martian dust may be less abrasive than lunar dust.

Timeline

1. Phys.org

   1 Nov 2026, 20:00 UTCSource ↗

   Phys.org reports that NASA's Perseverance rover carries small spacesuit-material swatches, each under one square inch, to help scientists assess the potential damage from ubiquitous Martian dust, and that the samples suggest Martian dust may be less abrasive than lunar dust.