A lot is happening on Mars right now. NASA currently has their Perseverance rover prepared to record some of the events that occurred with the Ingenuity helicopter’s maiden flight. The Ingenuity helicopter is one of the most interesting experiments NASA is conducting on the surface of Mars that could lead to the first controlled flight on another planet. As Ingenuity prepares for its flight tests, the operators of Perseverance noticed an interesting rock nearby and have started an investigation.
NASA discovered a green colored rock on the surface of the Red Planet and turned Perseverance’s laser on the rock. The rock’s origins are a mystery, and missiologists have reportedly been sharing hypotheses about where the rock came from and how it was formed. Scientists are wondering if the strange rock is something weathered from the local bedrock, a piece of Mars resulting from a distant impact, or maybe a meteorite.
Mission scientists say the rock is about six inches long and notable on its surface is the series of laser marks in which Perseverance examined the composition of the rock. The laser used is part of the SuperCam instrument. The hope is that, over time, data obtained with the laser can help scientists determine whether the rock formed where it was or whether it was wrapped up by some other process.
The researchers believe that if the rock hadn’t formed in its current location, it would have been carried by the water into the crater in the distant past, or that it was a piece of meteorite persistence. The rover explores the Jezero crater for signs of old life. The area in the distant past was the location of a deep sea and river delta. The laser that the rover uses to examine the rock creates a cloud of vaporized material that can be analyzed by the cameras and spectrometers on board the rover.
Ref: https://www.slashgear.com