TechPerseverance rover discovers "popcorn rock" hinting at ancient water on Mars

Perseverance rover discovers "popcorn rock" hinting at ancient water on Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover has been gathering valuable information about Mars since 2021. On its journey, it has visited numerous locations that may hold traces of ancient life. According to NASA, Perseverance had just left Mount Washburn and arrived at an area known as Bright Angel, where a unique type of rock was found. Scientists, due to its appearance, call it "popcorn rock." Its existence is further evidence that there was once water in Jezero Crater.

Unusual rocks on Mars
Unusual rocks on Mars
Images source: © ASU, JPL-Caltech, NASA

11:16 AM EDT, June 20, 2024

NASA's Perseverance rover has been searching for traces of ancient life on Mars for several years. Its main area of interest is Jezero Crater, which scientists selected as a region of the Red Planet where the ancient environment could have supported microbiological life. The rover, equipped with specialized instruments such as a special drill and robotic arm, collects samples of Martian rocks and sediments to send them to Earth eventually.

NASA's perseverance rover searches for traces of life

NASA reports that Perseverance is currently focused on studying the Bright Angel area. This region is characterized by bright rocky outcrops representing ancient rocks exposed to river erosion or sediments filling a channel. The team hopes to find rocks different from those in the carbonate- and olivine-rich marginal unit and gather more clues about Jezero's history.

Already, it has observed "popcorn rocks," named by experts due to their shape and distribution. According to NASA, these are rocks unlike any previously seen by Perseverance. Their existence may further prove that Jezero Crater was once filled with water. After exploring the Bright Angel area, NASA will direct the rover to Serpentine Rapids.

The material that Perseverance collects during its Martian journey will be sent to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return mission, which NASA and ESA will carry out. The plan involves launching a container with samples from the surface of Mars and capturing it in orbit with a specially prepared spacecraft. This spacecraft will safely deliver the samples to Earth, which will most likely happen in the early 2030s.

See also
© essanews.com
·About us
·Terms of service
·Contact us
·Privacy policy
·

Downloading, reproduction, storage, or any other use of content available on this website—regardless of its nature and form of expression (in particular, but not limited to verbal, verbal-musical, musical, audiovisual, audio, textual, graphic, and the data and information contained therein, databases and the data contained therein) and its form (e.g., literary, journalistic, scientific, cartographic, computer programs, visual arts, photographic)—requires prior and explicit consent from Wirtualna Polska Media Spółka Akcyjna, headquartered in Warsaw, the owner of this website, regardless of the method of exploration and the technique used (manual or automated, including the use of machine learning or artificial intelligence programs). The above restriction does not apply solely to facilitate their search by internet search engines and uses within contractual relations or permitted use as specified by applicable law.Detailed information regarding this notice can be found  here.