The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a surprising discovery on Mars using its Perseverance robot. During the fourth scientific campaign of this rover, stones that had never before been documented on the red planet were found. This discovery occurred almost by chance when Perseverance received instructions to reroute it to an area called Bright Angel. On this new path, The robot discovered interesting geological features in an ancient river channel, revealing new details about Martian history.
The statement issued by NASA highlights that Bright Angel It presents rocky outcrops of light tones, which could be ancient rocks exposed by river erosion or sediments that filled the channel. This finding is very important for scientists as they seek to understand ancient river processes on Mars. The study of these formations could provide valuable information about the planet’s past and its environmental conditions.
NASA Stones
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
What are the new rocks that NASA discovered on Mars like?
Researchers named one of these stones “Atoko Point”. This rock, which measures 45 centimeters wide and 35 centimeters highis distinguished by its light tones and is located in a field of darker rocks. According to the descriptions of the American space agency, Atoko Point is composed of the minerals pyroxene and feldspar. The chemical composition of this stone places it in a completely new category, which increases its scientific interest.
Perseverance indicated that the minerals that make up Atoko Point could have been produced in a magma body subsurface, which is now exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater.
Although this stone is the first of its kind that scientists have observed, the team behind this investigation believes that it will not be the last, they said in a statement released to reveal the details of the discovery.
Perseverance Mars
