NASA's Perseverance rover continues to study the surface of the Red Planet, and this time it found something interesting. It is a rock that likely came to the planet from space, writes Focus.
An unusual rock was found in the Jezero crater area. Its diameter is 80 cm, and it has been named Fippsaxla. NASA has two photographs of this rock, captured from different distances, writes Science Alert.
What makes Fippsaxla unique is its composition, which is rich in iron and nickel. This composition indicates that the rock likely came to Mars from space and is a meteorite.
According to scientists, iron-nickel meteorites are much rarer than stony ones. Such meteorites formed at the dawn of the Solar System.
NASA researchers took notice of the rock due to its unusual shape. This rock appears larger than the others, rising above other objects. Perseverance took a couple of pictures using one of the modern Mastcam-Z cameras mounted on its mast.
After that, the rover used lasers and spectrometers on its SuperCam instrument to conduct a chemical analysis of the Fippsaxla rock. It was during this analysis that the presence of iron and nickel in the meteorite was discovered.
Despite the fact that the rock is a guest from distant space, its presence on Mars is not unexpected. Iron-nickel meteorites have already been found in other locations on Mars, so it is surprising that Perseverance has not encountered them before.
Additional analysis will be required to confirm that this is indeed a meteorite on the surface of Mars.
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