We have never seen rocks like this on Mars before. A white stone in a sea of black rocks. How do I get there?
To most people, Mars may seem like a desert full of dirt and rocks. But for geologists, it is a treasure. AND with this curious white rock, the first one found on Marsthey are jumping for joy.
The Perseverance rover has had a pretty tough month of June. She has arrived in an area of the Neretva Vallis, in the Jezero crater, full of rocks and dunes. It’s not the most agile vehicle in the world, and scientists can’t afford for the rover to tip over, or get stuck in the sand.
So move very slowly, less than 200 meters every 24 hours. They must plan routes of 30 meters at a time, based on what the cameras show, and Perseverance’s own self-navigation system.
A strange rock on Mars
On June 9, on the way to an area called Bright Angel, the NASA rover passed near Mount Washburn. And there he saw something unusual: a white rock among a sea of black stones.
It is not common to find clear stones on Mars, and this is the first with these characteristics. A geological treasure.
The stone is so special that it has its own name: Atoko Point.. As explained by NASA in a statement, measures about 45 centimeters wide and 35 centimeters high. The analysis carried out by Perseverance’s SuperCam and Mastcam-Z instruments indicates that the rock is composed of the minerals pyroxene and feldspar.
POT
Due to the size, shape and arrangement of its mineral grains and crystals, and possibly its chemical composition, Atoko Point It is a unique rock, among all those that have been found on Mars.
Now geologists are wondering how that rock got there. It certainly doesn’t fit in with the rest of the slate-colored rocks around it. And no, it’s not a meteorite.
Some Perseverance scientists speculate that It originated in the planet’s interior magmawhich at some point came to the surface of the planet, on the edge of the crater.
Other members of the team believe that the boulder originated somewhere else outside of Jezero Crater, and It was transported there by the currents of a Martian riverwhen there was water on Mars, millions of years ago.
In any case, the NASA team is convinced that Atoko is the first rock of its kind they have seen, but it won’t be the last.
The exploration of Mars continues, even if it is at the rate of 200 meters a day. Almost all of those days are a surprise. And we are lucky to be able to see it almost live.
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Tags: NASA, Viral, Curiosities
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