Perseverance Uses SaU 008 Meteorite as SHERLOC Calibration Target After 1,000 Sols of Stable Readings
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 11
Perseverance Uses SaU 008 Meteorite as SHERLOC Calibration Target After 1,000 Sols of Stable Readings
2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 11
Summary
SaU 008—a Martian meteorite found in Oman in 1999 and mounted on Perseverance—has served as one of 10 SHERLOC calibration targets, with a 2025 study confirming stable signals over the rover’s first 1,000 sols.
SHERLOC uses deep-ultraviolet Raman, fluorescence and imaging to map minerals and organics, and SaU 008 gives the instrument a pre-characterized Martian sample for ground-truth checks against rocks in Jezero crater.
The meteorite was chosen in 2018 because its chemistry fit the job and it was tough enough to survive launch and landing; Perseverance carried the slice to Mars in February 2021.
Scientists say repeated measurements of the sample also help track whether SHERLOC—or the exposed meteorite itself—changes over time in Mars’s surface and atmospheric environment.