Waiting -- With Patience, In Silence -- For A Pinged Return, From A Still-Smoldering Queen... On Mars: Sunday Fare

Eventually, this "score-keeper" board here on Earth, to keep track of which samples are which -- and in which order. . . will be full. At some point in 2025 or so, we may send another robotic mission, to pick up all these sealed core sample tubes. . . and bring them back.

Yes, this is both the study of the ancient geology of an alien world. . . and the search for evidence of past life, on our nearest neighbor. But until then, at least -- these high-science pings will be. . . unanswered. So we will need to be. . . patient:

. . .The preservation of organics inside ancient rocks -- regardless of origin -- at both Gale and Jezero Craters (from prior missions) does mean that potential biosignatures (signs of life, whether past or present) could be preserved, too.

“This is a question that may not be solved until the samples are returned to Earth, but the preservation of organics is very exciting. When these samples are returned to Earth, they will be a source of scientific inquiry and discovery for many years,” Beegle said. . . .

Grinning ear to ear -- at what is yet. . . to come. What Will Shakespeare called the "undiscovered country". We will drink it all in (thrice!) -- even as we await its ultimate. . . arrival. Evidence of sublime, but still smoldering. . . life (even after a few billion years) -- and, spread far and wide, throughout our cosmos. Wouldn't that be something, indeed? Smiling. . . .

नमस्ते