NASA discovery on Mars that should not be there factors to ‘customer from outer house’
Although rocks on the Red Planet is nothing new, its ‘sculpted, high-standing appearance’ is a world away from others on Mars and left experts wondering just how it got there
NASA boffins have been left utterly gobsmacked after stumbling across a bizarre rogue rock on Mars that may not even be from our Solar System. The US space agency admitted the mystery stone stopped them in their tracks,
Researcher Candice Bedford wrote in a recent blog post lifting the lid on the potentially intergalactic gravel nugget: “This rock was identified as a target of interest.”
The oddball object was spotted by NASA’s Perseverance Rover, which has spent five years trundling around the Red Planet hunting for clues of ancient life.
While poking about the Vernodden region of the vast 28-mile-wide Jezero Crater, the Rover clocked the geological weirdo – a 31-inch-wide chunk now nicknamed “Phippsaksla.”
Rocks on Mars aren’t exactly rare, but this one had scientists thinking overtime thanks to its “sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks.”
Intrigued, further analysis by Perseverance’s SuperCam found something even stranger. The reading showed a sky-high mix of iron and nickel, a chemical combo far more at home in “iron-nickel” meteorites than in your standard Martian rubble.
These usually form deep inside giant asteroids, forged as heavy elements melted into rock during the dawn of the Solar System, reports Science Alert.
It wouldn’t be the first extraterrestrial interloper found on the Mars, either. NASA previously clocked iron-nickel meteorites like the “Cacao” meteorite back in 2023. But this marks the first time Perseverance itself has rolled up on one of these rocks.
Scientists say they’ll need to run more tests to be certain the shiny space rock is truly a meteorite. But if confirmed, the galactic gatecrasher could end up offering priceless clues about the Red Planet’s wild past.
The news comes as NASA yesterday released new images during a press conference of the 3I/ATLAS object that was spotted floating through our Solar System at the start of July and has left the the world wondering exactly what it is since.
Boffins at the agency, though, dispelled the rumours that it could be a type of alien and instead said it is nothing more than a comet. But this didn’t stop billionaire Elon Musk from posting the word ‘Alienz’ on X in response to NASA’s announcement.
Plenty of other social media users also appeared to be on Musk’s wavelength and refused to believe what the scientists told them. One wrote: “I’m not saying it’s aliens, but it’s aliens” while another added: “100% This entire press conference is suspect as F, it reeks”.
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