NASA’s Curiosity Rover has captured an image of a coral-like rock on Mars that is estimated to be several billion years old. The small, wind-eroded rock, about 1 inch wide, was discovered during the rover’s mission on July 24, which marked the 4,609th Martian day.
According to NASA, the rock formed when liquid water carried dissolved minerals into rock cracks, leaving hardened minerals behind after it dried. Over billions of years, sandblasting shaped the “unique shapes” seen in the rock today.
This discovery is significant because it suggests that Mars may have had a habitable environment in the past. The Curiosity Rover has found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments on Mars and has explored about 22 miles of the planet.
The rover was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and landed on Mars in 2012 after an eight-month, 352-million-mile journey. It continues to collect samples and gather data from a time when the planet could have been home to microbial life.
Other interesting discoveries made by the Curiosity Rover include a flower-shaped rock found in 2022, which is believed to have formed when mineralizing fluids traveled through conduits in the rock. The rover has also discovered “Paposo,” a strangely shaped 2-inch rock discovered on July 24.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/nasa-finds-coral-shaped-rock-mars-billions-years/story?id=124480564