Mars could be 300 million miles away, but it is not immune to garbage. Although no humans live on Mars, there is already at least one piece of garbage splattering the red planet according to NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Twitter account.
Cosmos Gallery: Possible Worlds
NASA took another big step in space exploration and science last year when Perseverance landed on Mars joining four other rovers: Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. Unfortunately, this new space landing came with a novelty for the fourth planet in our solar system from the sun: some unwanted debris. NASA tweeted that its team detected something unexpected in the form of a thermal blanket.
NASA believes that the thermal blanket may have come off during the Perseverance descent stage when it landed in 2021. The thermal blanket, used to control temperatures, was a startling find for NASA. Because? Because he found himself nailed to a rock about two miles away from where the newest rover came down.
NASA also pulled the curtain to show the rover’s launch with its team of “spaceship seamstresses” who adorned the rover with these thermal blankets.
Here is part of the JPL team that wrapped me in thermal blankets. Think of them as spaceship seamstresses. They work with sewing machines and other tools to put these unique materials together.
More information here: pic.twitter.com/PcMeow3FyO
– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
NASA’s exploration of Mars has led to some exciting discoveries. Perseverance’s landing last year made it the first rover equipped with a ground-touch microphone, resulting in several audio and video recordings from the planet’s surface. Most NASA rovers also make months of travel to the red planet adorned with a series of aesthetic Easter eggs, ranging from practical to playful.
Casey is a freelance IGN writer. You can usually find him talking about JRPG on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.