NASA’s Curiosity rover has made a unique discovery on Mars, finding rocks with an unusual texture that may have sparked excitement among cauliflower enthusiasts. The rover’s navigation camera spotted the rocks, which were later named Manzana Creek and Palo Comado, during a recent trip to Gale Crater.
The rocks exhibit jagged, vertical surfaces and a rough texture, unlike anything seen before on Mars. Curiosity’s deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman, attributed the unique features to wind and water erosion over time. Meanwhile, Perseverance, located about 2,300 miles away, discovered bumpy rocks resembling miniature “Martian blueberries” around the rim of Jezero Crater.
The finding has piqued scientists’ interest in understanding the geological processes that formed these unusual features. Spherical features on Mars can form through volcanic eruptions, meteorite strikes, or water flowing through them, creating concretions of minerals. The discovery has reinforced the need for NASA to bring samples back to Earth for further study.
The Mars Sample Return mission is currently facing a challenge in developing new approaches to retrieve Martian rock and dust samples. NASA plans to spend the next year working on engineering plans for two potential options.
Source: https://mashable.com/article/nasa-mars-curiosity-perseverance-bumpy-rocks-discovery