Perseverance has found a very strange rock on Mars. Is covered with spheres and does not fit with its surroundings

He Rover Perseverance He has discovered an intriguing rock on Mars. Composed of hundreds of small spheres, NASA scientists They are investigating how it formed.

After climbing (Not without difficulties) The edge of the Jezero crater, Perseverance has been exploring a place called Broom Point, where he has seen rocks of different colors. There he took samples of clear stones and discovered a strange texture in a nearby dark rock.

Appeared “St. Pauls Bay”, the rock is covered with Timinutas gray spheriessome crushed or games, other perforated, reminiscent of a lot of blueberries. The formation is very peculiar and darker than the environment.

It is not the first time that NASA finds strange spheres in Mars. The Opportunity and Curiosity Roversity saw similar formations, nicknamed “Blueberries”, which originated when The planet was full of waterdue to the groundwater, circulating through the rocks.

But the Water circulation It is not the only process that can lead to spherules. Also volcanic eruptions or meteorite impacts.

The St. Paul’s Bay rock in its surroundings

The geological origin of St. Pauls Bay is not clear. It is a floating rock, so it was not in its original position, which suggests that the spheris may not be concretions (particle accumulations). Perseverance team is checking if the Rock fits with The layers observed in the surroundingsa region called Witch Hazel Hill.

Discovering the origin of these tiny spheres could help NASA to unravel the Geological history of the area. If it belongs, like other Jezero rocks, at the NOEICA age, it is an exceptional witness of the primary cortex of Mars more than 3.7 billion years ago.

In addition to Find past life cluesPerseverance tries to understand how Mars became an inhospitable and cold planet of little atmosphere, something that could also happen with the earth in a few million years.

Images | NASA, JPL-Caltech

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