NASA reports an amazing find
While exploring a crater on Mars, NASA said its rover made an unprecedented discovery. The device, which has been studying the Jezero Crater since 2021, discovered a mysterious light-colored rock in June. The discovery was the first of its kind noticed on Martian soil.
“The Perseverance rover encountered the boulder while traversing Mars' Neretva Valley, a dry river delta, on its way to an area inside the crater where rocky outcrops are being examined for sediments that could shed light on the history of Mars,” NASA said. The rover changed course on its route to avoid rough terrain when, taking a shortcut through a dune field, it reached a hill that scientists named Mount Washburn.
The hill was covered in boulders, some of which NASA said were belong to “a type that has never before been observed on Mars.”
One small boulder was particularly of interest to scientists: a stone measuring approximately 45 centimeters across and 35 centimeters high, speckled and noticeably light in color, was spotted among the darker boulders on the hill.
“The variety of textures and compositions at Mount Washburn was an exciting discovery for the team because these rocks represent a treasure trove of geological gifts from the crater rim and perhaps beyond,” commented astronomer Brad Garczynski. “But among all these different rocks, there was one that really caught our attention.”
Garczynski and his team gave the mysterious boulder the nickname “Atoko Point,” and deeper study of the rock with the rover’s instruments revealed that it consists of pyroxene and feldspar minerals.
Pyroxene and feldspar are minerals that are also found in the Earth's crust and on the Moon, according to the USGS and NASA. The space agency said some scientists have suggested that the minerals found at Cape Atoko may have formed from magma that originated beneath the surface of Mars and was eventually exposed at the rim of Jezero Crater due to erosion.
Other team members suggested that the boulder was misplaced on Washburn Hill, if indeed it had been mined from another part of the planet and transported along an ancient river bed to its current location on the edge. But NASA indicated that all scientists believe there must be more rocks with a similar composition somewhere else on Mars.
The rover discovered the rock during its fourth mission to Mars, which is aimed at searching for evidence of carbonate and olivine deposits in the interior of Jezero Crater.
They are of interest to scientists because identifying carbonate in a Martian crater could theoretically provide access to traces of ancient life on the planet preserved in the mineral, and olivine will help them understand when historically, the Martian climate may have contributed to the appearance of organic compounds such as flowing water.
Scientists conclude that studying the composition of Mars and what it may have been like long ago could help them understand whether the planet's current landscape may ever become suitable for human life. It may also provide important clues about the origins and evolution of life on Earth.
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