Nasa’s persistence finds possible Phippsuksla on Mars

Nasa’s persistence may have stumbled upon a phenomenon from outer space – a strange, shiny rock on Mars that scientists think could be a meteorite formed in the heart of an ancient asteroid.

According to a new blog post on the rover’s website

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

While this isn’t the first time a rover has spotted a metallic rock on Mars, it could be the first to endure. The previous conclusion – including curiosity, chance and wind – found Iron-Nickel Meteorites scattered across the Martian surface, which makes it all the more surprising that endurance has not seen one so far, Nasa said.

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Now, on the other side of the crater’s rim, the rover may have finally found one – a rock full of iron in the bed of my own bad impact. If confirmed, the discovery will put the tolerance and other Mars Rovers that have tested pieces of cosmic visitors on the red planet.

In order to learn more about the Rock, the team aimed a large endurance – an instrument that uses a laser to analyze the chemical composition of the rock – at Phippsaksla. The readings show high levels of iron and nickel, a combination Nasa says strongly suggests a meteorite origin.

Installed avop the rover’s mast, the supercam uses its laser to capture small pieces of material, so the sensors can see objects inside from a few meters away.

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The discovery is important, Nasa noted, because iron and nickel are usually found together only in meteorites that start deep inside ancient asteroids – not in traditional host rocks.

If confirmed, Phippsaksla would join a long list of meteorites identified by previous work, including “Lebanon” and “Cacao” by chance, as well as fragments of iron spotted by chance and wind. Nasa said each discovery helped scientists better understand how meteorites interacted with the Martian surface over time.

Because Phippsuksla sits on the bed that formed the Jezero impact outside Jezero Crater, NASA scientists say its location can provide clues as to how the rock was formed and how it ended up there.

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Meanwhile, the agency said its team is continuing to study Phippsaksla’s unusual structure to determine whether it originated on the other side of Mars.

If proven to be a meteorite, the discovery would mark a long-standing milestone – and another reminder that even at a planet 140 million miles away, there are still surprises waiting in the dust.

Persistence, NASA’s most advanced robot to date, traveled 293 million kilometers to reach Mars after launching the Cape Crater Station in Florida v rocket from Jezero Canater Space on February 30, 2020.

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Built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the CENTRAL REGRION is 7.7 meters long, and 7 kilograms longer than its predecessor, a curiosity.

It is powered by a plutonium generator, sustains seven scientific instruments, a seven-foot robotic arm, and a rock dring that allows it to collect samples that can be returned to Earth.

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