The Perseverance rover has spotted a strange, out-of-place artifact on the surface of Mars.
Mars continues to provide us with entertaining stories. As the Perseverance rover slowly explores the surface of our neighboring planet, the robotic explorer records its surroundings capturing countless images along the way.
From time to time, and as we have become accustomed to it, the rover makes surprising discoveries around it. The latest find is somewhat of a shocker. Perseverance photographed what appears to be a spaghetti-like artifact laying on the dry, reddish surface of Mars.
Last time we checked, there weren’t any Italianni’s restaurants on Mars, so finding an object that is totally out of place is somewhat of a surprise. However, there have been some pretty wild images from Mars. Remember the “crab-like” object?
The object caught by one of Percy’s cameras is certainly no rock formation. Moreover, it doesn’t appear to be any geological formation we know of. Instead, the object spotted by the rover looks more like a string or shredded material clinging together.
This image of the odd object was snapped by a hazard avoidance camera mounted on Percy’s front to keep him safe while driving or using his robotic arm.
While NASA has still not released a statement clarifying whether this is Martian spaghetti, a geological formation, or debris of the mission, the most likely explanation for what we see here would be some material that ended up on the Martian surface as the rover landed on Mars.
The remnants of Persistence’s landing equipment have been seen all over. Among other things, the rover spotted a piece of thermal blanket wedged against a rock back in June.
So we know that a lot of debris is scattered around the area where perseverance is located. And this specific debris is all human trash, not the remnants of ancient aliens on Mars.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the rover’s arrival on Mars in February 2021.
Following the descent stage’s safe delivery of the wheeled laboratory to the surface, it skidded away, eventually crashing at a distance. A large area of the Martian landscape might’ve been covered in gear bits and pieces after the crash. The landing event was dramatic, so it wouldn’t be surprising that hundreds of tiny objects from the landing were scattered across the surface.
The messy object is seen from a broader perspective in relation to the rover’s wheel and the robotic arm’s end. Currently, the rover is exploring an important sample collection site. Perseverance is investigating an old river delta in the Jezero Crater, a prime place to discover evidence of ancient life. If there was alien life on Mars, evidence of it is likely at Jezero.
Whatever Percy may have photographed on Mars, the rover is busy collecting a variety of precious specimens from the Jezero Crater. These samples collected by the rover will eventually end up on Earth in laboratories where scientists will probe them to see whether there are any traces of alien life in them.
Despite NASA’s insistence that samples should be returned by 2033, that return trip – which has already caused a fair amount of drama – is still in the future. Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover will continue exploring the surface of Mars, together with its older robotic brother Curiosity, and both will continue sending photographs of Mars back to Earth. In addition, we will keep an eye out for more curious, out-of-place objects on the surface of the red planet.
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