The US space agency has shared a collection of amazing images captured by Perseverance, which is NASA’s Mars spacecraft tasked with investigating the planet to find signs of ancient life. Scientists were baffled by the stones balancing on top of each other in ways that defied physics. The rover, which has been exploring Mars since February last year, found the rock formations in the Jezero crater region, where it also made a number of fascinating discoveries.
The images show a rock formation consisting of a stone balancing on a much larger rock.
In a tweet, NASA’s perseverance team wrote: From previous and distant views, my team dubbed this area “the bacon strip.” (My map above shows why.)
“Now that I’m up there, we call it‘ Hogwallow Flats ’and the nearby rocks are a spectacle to behold.
“My team is as happy as pigs in the mud (stone)!
“I mean, take a look at some of these close – ups.
“Tons of potential studio targets. A paradise for rock nerds like me.”
NASA scientists have decided to focus Perseverance research on Jezero crater since billions of years ago, the site was thought to have hosted a lake and a river delta and could provide valuable information about the possibility of ancient life on Mars.
Last week, while exploring the crater itself, Perseverance shared an image of a bright silver object embedded between two rocks on the ground of the red planet.
However, NASA immediately rejected any suggestion that this object was a sign of extraterrestrial life.
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