NASA’s Persevere rover has picked up a rocky passenger on the surface of Mars.
The rover has collected a “Pet Rock” stashed inside its left front wheel which has been riding along with the Perseverance since early February. So far, it’s stretched across 5.3 miles (8.5 kilometers) with the Perseverance rover as it drove through its home on Mars’ Jezero Crater.
“This rock does no damage to the wheel, but during its (undoubtedly bumpy!) journey, it has gripped and periodically appeared in the left Hazcam images,” Eleni Ravanis, a NASA Perseverance mission collaborating student from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, wrote in an update. (Opens in a new tab).
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According to Ravanese, Perseverance picked up the little Martian rock on February 4, which is the 341st rover day (or Sol as the days of Mars are called) on the red planet. At the time, Perseverance was exploring a rock formation called “Moad” that scientists believe is made up of ancient lava flows.
Since then, perseverance has carried the rock north through its landing site, named after the late famous science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, and then westward through the remnant area called “Kodiak”, the remains of a former delta at Jezero. The rover is currently in the center of what NASA calls the Delta Front campaign, Ravanese writes, and may have drilled into the first sedimentary rock on Mars.
“The rock of perseverance is now a long way from its home,” Ravanese wrote. “It is possible that the rock may fall at some point along our future ascent of the crater rim. If that happens, it will land among rocks that we would expect to be very different from itself.”
If that happens, Ravanese added, a future Martian geologist might be a bit confused when he finds the rock out of place.
Wandering rocks are no stranger to NASA’s Mars rovers.
In 2004, the Soul Rover picked up what Ravanes described as a “potato-sized” rock in its right rear wheel that eventually had to be dislodged. Perseverance’s older cousin, Curiosity’s roaming, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Mars in August, has also picked up solo rocks with occasional wrecked wheels while continuing its special mission on Gale Crater.
“While it is unclear exactly how long these rocks remained around, they tended to jump after a few weeks,” Ravanese wrote. “Current Perseverance Companion is on its way to setting records for hiking Mars!”
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