Posted on 06/18/2024 6:32:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s rover discovered a mysterious boulder on Mars, CBS News reported Monday.
NASA’s Perseverance rover made a discovery in the Jezero crater on Mars, encountering a mysterious, light-toned boulder that differs from any previously observed Martian rocks. This finding occurred during the rover’s journey through the Neretva Vallis, a dried-up river delta, as it navigated towards a region in the crater’s rim to study sediment deposits, according to CBS News.
The boulder, dubbed Atoko Point, caught the team’s attention with its unique speckled, light-toned appearance amid darker rocks. It was said to be “in a league of its own,” measuring about 18 inches across and 14 inches tall, the outlet reported. The rock’s distinct mineral composition includes pyroxene and feldspar — minerals also found in Earth’s crust and on the moon.
Brad Garczynski, from Western Washington University and co-leader of the Perseverance mission, expressed the team’s excitement over the find, noting that Atoko Point and other rocks in the vicinity likely originated from different parts of Mars and were transported to Mount Washburn, where the rover discovered them, the outlet stated.
Further investigation revealed that the minerals in Atoko Point could have stemmed from underground magma, suggesting a dynamic geological history involving significant volcanic activity and erosion at the Jezero crater’s rim, CBS News reported. This hypothesis is supported by the boulder’s possible displacement via ancient river flows, highlighting the complexity of Martian geology.
The rover’s latest mission at Atoko Point on Mars marks its fourth campaign, aimed at detecting carbonate and olivine deposits. These minerals are essential for uncovering the planet’s past environmental conditions and could contain ancient organic materials, shedding light on the possibility of past life on Mars, according to CBS News.
That was me on my last trip there.
Selfies on Mars not allowed......................
That is awesome.
Why do all the rocks on Mars lie on top of the soil? One would think that after all those billions of years they would be mostly covered over with dirt, like on the moon.
Looks like there might be a few, but smaller in size as as I several smaller lighter colored rocks. Perhaps gray instead of white.
Looks like they mated R2D2 with a guy.
Drink more Ovaltine.
The difference is Mars has atmosphere and more recently had volcanic activity.
Many rocks are covered but martian storms often blow the soil away. Leaving only large rocks on top in certain areas. While other areas are covered in very deep dunes. The sand/soil is constantly shifting due to winds.
The moon has no atmosphere so the surface is constantly bombarded and doesnt move much otherwise. With each bombardment, rock is broken down and the lunar soil becomes finer.
These brains need to be put in a room together to fight out these far fetched thoughts. One week space isn’t real, space travel isn’t real, we never went to the moon, you cannot punch thru the ether surrounding our globe, pie pan flat, bowl earth et al.
Ack❗ Ack❗
But - another gigantic waste of money better used elsewhere.
Rock accidently left on the wrong stage of the Universal Studios lot?
Bjorn Jarlsson was here.
I think it’s Leeverite.
Meanwhile a local Martian peers into the rover camera.
Human missions to Mars in doubt after astronaut kidney shrinkage revealed
‘An astronaut could make it to Mars but they might need dialysis on the way back,’ scientist warns
Anthony Cuthbertson
1 day ago
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/mars-mission-space-radiation-kidneys-b2561132.html
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