Mars' Perseverance Rover Discovers a Peculiar Rock

On Mars, the Perseverance rover has been busy checking out rocks. Most are pretty ordinary, but recently, it found something unusual. While checking out the bedrock at a spot called Vernodden, Perseverance spotted a rock that stood out. This rock, named Phippsaksla, is about 31 inches wide and looks different from the flat, broken rocks around it. It's tall and has a unique shape, making it catch the eye of scientists back on Earth. Phippsaksla might be a meteorite made of iron and nickel. This kind of meteorite is rare on Earth but has been found on Mars before. However, this is the first time Perseverance has found one near the Jezero Crater. To figure out what Phippsaksla is made of, Perseverance used a tool called SuperCam. This tool uses a camera, laser, and spectrometers to study rocks and soils. The results suggest that Phippsaksla might be from somewhere else in the solar system. Iron-nickel meteorites are pieces of ancient asteroids. These meteorites come from the cores of asteroids that melted early in their history. As the asteroids cooled, the dense iron and nickel sank to the center, forming cores. When asteroids collide, pieces of these cores can break off and become meteorites. Other Mars rovers have found iron-nickel meteorites before. For example, the Curiosity rover found a one-foot-wide meteorite called Cacao in 2023. The twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, also found similar meteorites during their missions. It's a bit surprising that Perseverance took so long to find an iron-nickel meteorite. The Jezero Crater, where Perseverance is exploring, is about the same age as the Gale Crater, where Curiosity found meteorites. There are also smaller impact craters in Jezero, suggesting that meteorites have hit the crater floor, delta, and rim over time. To confirm that Phippsaksla is indeed an iron-nickel meteorite, more analysis is needed. Perseverance has other tools, like PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry), that can provide a more detailed picture of the rock's chemistry. Perseverance can also collect and cache rock samples for a potential return to Earth. However, the future of the Mars Sample Return mission is uncertain. Phippsaksla has definitely caught NASA's attention. As Perseverance continues to explore, scientists will learn more about this unusual rock. Who knows what other surprises the rover will find next?