This Tuesday, April 6, 2021 picture exhibits the Perseverance Mars rover, foreground, and the Ingenuity helicopter about 13 toes (3.9 meters) behind. This composite picture was made by the WASTON digital camera on the rover’s robotic arm on the forty sixth Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Related Press
Perseverance, NASA’s Mars rover, has reportedly had a pet rock since early February.
An surprising buddy: The rock slid onto the rover’s wheel a number of months in the past and has since traveled greater than 5.3 miles with Perseverance.
- NASA says that the rock isn’t doing any injury to the wheel and has made appearances in photos taken by the rover.
Concerning the rock: Scientists at NASA imagine the rock is made up of lava flows.
- “If this pet rock may speak it would inform us concerning the adjustments it’s observed as we traveled again north via the Octavia E. Butler touchdown web site, after which west, passing the spectacular stays of the previous extent of the delta, ‘Kodiak,’ on our journey to the western Jezero Delta,” NASA mentioned.
Pet rocks of the previous: Enterprise Insider studies this isn’t the primary time pet rocks have discovered their manner onto the elements of a rover. About 18 years in the past, a “potato-sized” rock tagged together with the Spirit rover.
Can we get the rock out? These rocks typically fall onto the rover throughout cross-slope drives, after which fall out on their very own over time. There’s no manner for scientists to get this rock off of the rover, in keeping with Enterprise Insider.
About Perseverance: Perseverance was launched in July 2020 and landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.
- Its essential job is to search out indicators of historical life and gather rock and soil samples to hopefully convey again to Earth, NASA reported.