NASA’s rover has once again found one of those fascinating treasures on the Red Planet
June 28, 2024, 11:30 a.m.
Updated June 28, 2024, 11:41
Sometimes we need to remember the dates to put things in perspective. On February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Since then, and more than three years have passed, the rover has remained on the red planet in search of samples that will reveal the mystery of Mars’ past. The last thing we know is that it is depositing sample tubes containing air. Well, that and something equally surprising: “popcorn.”
Martian popcorn. It happened last week after leaving Mount Washburn behind and arriving at its new destination, Bright Angel. In this part of the planet, the rover found an unusual type of rock that scientists have called “popcorn.” It is not just any discovery, since the strange piece seems to be more evidence that there was once water in the Jezero Crater.
Bright Angel. The area where Perseverance is currently located is a space that forms part of the river channel that flows into the Jezero Crater marked by a type of bright rock where the rover will dig into the ground, scan and obtain X-ray images. Over the next few months, scientists will analyze the data it sends from there.
As for its name, it received it for being an unusually clear patch of rock in images taken from orbit. Against the typical Martian landscape, the spectacular appearance of the outcrop caught the attention of scientists. Among suggestions of such exotic features, researchers suggest that the Bright Angel rocks represent older material that was exposed by now-vanished water eroding the soil.
What the rock reveals to us. Geologists were mesmerized by what they saw: a variety of ancient, lighter stones that were likely once covered in “a rock with a strange structure that has never been seen before. Some rocks are densely covered in pellets, which we humorously describe as having a popcorn-like texture,” NASA explains.
The rocks are also full of ridges that look like mineral veins. These veins occur when water carries minerals through the rock and deposits them. The agency says these features suggest that groundwater flowed through the rocks after they were deposited. “Perseverance has already found many signs of ancient water on Mars,” they recall. In fact, an ESA space probe recently discovered water ice at the equator of Mars.
And now? The next step is to determine what minerals are present in these special popcorn rocks. Perseverance will ascend Bright Angel, taking measurements as it goes while using its abrasion tool and other instruments to take an even closer look.
It will vaporize some of the rock and use its SuperCam instrument suite to examine its chemistry. Once finished at Bright Angel, the rover will head south again, through the Neretva Vallis, to its next destination: Serpentine Rapids.
Other fascinating encounters. The truth is that Perseverance and Curiosity have given us some truly surprising discoveries on the red planet. From a “rocky shark fin” to a “crab claw”, spaghetti or a donut-shaped rock. Amazing work on the ground where they have recorded images and taken photos of all kinds that will help us better understand the secrets hidden in the history of Mars.
Image | NASA
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