Perseverance rover detects mysterious ‘visitor from outer space’ rock on Mars surface after 4 years

NASA’s Perseverance rover may have stumbled upon a visitor from outer space: a strange, glowing rock on Mars that scientists believe could be a meteorite forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid.

According to a new blog post on the rover’s mission page, the rock, nicknamed “Phippsaksla,” jutted out of the flat, rugged terrain around it, prompting NASA scientists to take a closer look.

The tests revealed high levels of iron and nickel, the same elements found in meteorites that crashed on both Mars and Earth.

While this is not the first time a rover has detected a metallic rock on Mars, it could be the first for Perseverance. Previous missions, including Curiosity, Opportunity and Spirit, discovered iron-nickel meteorites scattered across the Martian surface, making it even more surprising that Perseverance hasn’t seen one until now, NASA said.

MASSIVE ASTEROID LARGER THAN A SKYSCRAPER IS HEADING TOWARDS EARTH AT 24,000 MPH

Now, just beyond the crater’s rim, the rover may have finally found one: a metallic boulder perched on ancient impact-formed bedrock. If confirmed, the discovery would place Perseverance alongside other Mars rovers that have examined fragments of cosmic visitors to the red planet.

To learn more about the rock, the team pointed Perseverance’s SuperCam, an instrument that fires a laser to analyze the chemical composition of a target, at Phippsaksla. The readings showed unusually high levels of iron and nickel, a combination that NASA says strongly suggests a meteorite origin.

Mounted on the rover’s mast, SuperCam uses its laser to vaporize small pieces of material, so that sensors can detect items inside from several meters away.

SCIENTISTS OBSERVE SKYSCRAPER-SIZED ASTEROID RUNNING THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The finding is significant, NASA noted, because iron and nickel are normally found together only in meteorites formed deep inside ancient asteroids, not in native Martian rocks.

If confirmed, Phippsaksla would join a long list of meteorites identified by previous missions, including Curiosity’s “Lebanon” and “Cacao” finds, as well as metallic fragments detected by Opportunity and Spirit. NASA said each discovery has helped scientists better understand how meteorites interact with the Martian surface over time.

Because Phippsaksla sits on impact-formed bedrock outside Jezero Crater, NASA scientists said its location could offer clues about how the rock formed and how it ended up there.

A MASSIVE COMET PASSING THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM COULD BE FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY, SAYS A HARVARD ASTROPHYSICIST

For now, the agency said its team continues to study Phippsaksla’s unusual composition to confirm whether it really came from beyond Mars.

If proven to be a meteorite, the find would mark a long-awaited milestone for Perseverance and another reminder that even on a planet 140 million miles away, there are still surprises waiting in the dust.

Perseverance, NASA’s most advanced robot to date, traveled 473 million miles to reach Mars after launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida on July 30, 2020. It landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, where it spent nearly four years searching for signs of ancient microbial life and exploring the planet’s surface.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE News APP

Built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the $2.7 billion rover measures about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall, about 278 pounds more than its predecessor, Curiosity.

Powered by a plutonium generator, Perseverance carries seven scientific instruments, a two-meter robotic arm and a rock drill that allows it to collect samples that could one day return to Earth.

The mission will also help NASA prepare for future human exploration of Mars in the 2030s.