Posted on 04/18/2025 12:31:22 PM PDT by Red Badger
NASA’s Perseverance rover has made a mysterious discovery during its exploration of Jezero Crater: a dark-colored stone with unusual features that “may have originated from elsewhere.”
The unexpected discovery, which the Perseverance team has dubbed “Skull Hill,” was made last week while the intrepid rover continued its descent down the lower part of Witch Hazel Hill along the crater’s rim.
At one point, the rover stopped at the boundary between a pair of distinct rock outcrops of contrasting coloration that were first revealed in orbital imagery of the crater. The intriguing location, which the Perseverance team had nicknamed “Port Anson,” appears to be a geological “contact” area featuring several intriguing angular rocks, some of which are believed to have originated someplace other than their current resting place.
Such “float” rocks, as scientists call these out-of-place stones, are not uncommon on the Red Planet. However, even in an area rich with such features, Skull Hill stands out as a curious sample of stone that has left NASA’s scientific team with many questions.
A Closer Look at “Skull Hill”
A dark-toned rock formation possessing a rugged, angular surface and several unusual pit-like markings, Skull Hill was discovered on April 11 by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument. The curious looking stone contrasts sharply against the lighter terrain surrounding it, primarily due to its chalky grey color and unusual pits, which the Perseverance team believes are likely the result of wind erosion over long periods.
The unusual stone dubbed “Skull Hill,” which was discovered by NASA’s Perseverance rover on April 11, 2025 (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)
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Another reason for the rock’s strange, pitted appearance could involve the presence of clasts that were once embedded in it, which weathered away over time. Although Skull Hill is certainly an outlier among the local surrounding Martian rock samples, similar dark-colored float rocks have been discovered in the Port Anson area in the past.
Ongoing investigation into these unusual stones could help to determine not only their origins, but also the transport mechanisms behind their movement from their original location on the Red Planet’s surface.
However, adding to the mystery is another intriguing possibility the Perseverance team considered: that Skull Hill might not originate from anywhere on Mars at all.
Meteorite or Magmatic Mystery? Based on the stone’s dark coloration and unusual shape, one possibility that was initially considered had been that Skull Hill might be a fragment from a meteorite that made its way to the Martian surface.
Although the stone’s appearance does superficially resemble a meteorite, chemical analysis of the sample made possible by Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument indicates a composition that likely rules out a meteorite origin.
But if not a meteorite, then what could account for Skull Hill’s unusual appearance?
The best explanation so far seems to be that the mysterious stone is an igneous rock, which likely formed as molten lava or magma cooled long ago in the Red Planet’s history. Such volcanic stones are common both on Mars, and on Earth, and contain an abundance of elements like iron and magnesium which would contribute to their dark color.
Other minerals such as olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite—all of which are frequently found in igneous rocks—might also be present in Skull Hill.
Further investigations by Perseverance will likely help to shed additional light on the mystery.
“Luckily for us, the rover has instruments that can measure the chemical composition of rocks on Mars,” said Margaret Deahn, Ph.D., a student at Purdue University who wrote about the recent discovery in a blog post at NASA’s website.
“Understanding the composition of these darker-toned floats will help the team to interpret the origin of this unique rock,” Deahn added. By analyzing the composition of dark-toned float rocks like Skull Hill, the team hopes to trace their geologic story—whether shaped by volcanic activity, impact events, or something entirely unexpected.
Additional information about “Skull Hill” and Perseverance’s latest investigations can be found on NASA’s official blogs webpage.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.
It almost looks artificial, like a molded cover off of something. Stick a drill in it, see what happens.
Did they finally get th lunch?😏
In 2nd banana heaven, I’d like to hope so.
LOL! That’s another great one and from an historical perspective, they have found nothing of interest unless you think wood is significant.
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