NASA's Perseverance Mars rover completing a sample drop or depot, Mastcam-Z composite image. The rover is depositing samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for potential collection. The Perseverance rover will be the primary means to hand off collected samples to a future robotic lander as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. Hosting a duplicate set, the depot will serve as a backup if Perseverance can't deliver its samples. The 'Amalik' sample (centre left) was approximately 3 metres away from the camera at the time the image was taken. There are 9 more samples in the background. Perseverance built this depot at 'Three Forks' a location within Mars' Jezero Crater. Launched on 30th July 2020, the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission aims to seek signs of ancient microbial life, characterise the planet's geology and pave the way for human exploration. Image obtained on 31st January 2023 by the Mastcam-Z imager on the Perseverance rover.