NASA’s Perseverance rover has made an exciting discovery on Mars – a black-and-white striped rock unlike any seen before. The unusual find, named Freya Castle, measures about 20 cm across and features alternating stripes. While the exact chemical composition of the rock is unknown, scientists believe it may have been created through igneous or metamorphic processes.
The rover was driving across unremarkable terrain when team members spotted the cobble in the distance. A multispectral observation using the Mastcam-Z camera revealed the striking pattern, which sparked immediate speculation about what this “zebra rock” might be.
As Freya Castle is a loose stone that differs from the underlying bedrock, it likely originated from somewhere else and may have rolled downhill from a higher source. This possibility has researchers excited, as they hope to encounter an outcrop of this new rock type while continuing their uphill drive.
This discovery follows a series of intriguing rocks found recently near the crater rim. The diverse collection of boulders at Mount Washburn could be our first glimpses of ancient rocks uplifted from depth by the Jezero impact, now exposed on the crater rim. Only time will tell.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2024-09-perseverance-rover-unusual-striped-mars.html