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NASA's Rover Captures Never-Before-Seen Images of 'Zebra Rock' on Mars

Space rover finds a distinct looking rock on Mars surface during its expedition for finding signs of ancient life on the planet

BY SOMDATTA MAITY

UPDATED SEP 30, 2024

Cover Image Source: NASA's Mars Perseverance rover captured this image of a black-and-white striped rock | NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

A Unique Rock Found on Mars

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by RDNE Stock project

NASA's Perseverance rover in its recent expedition stumbled upon a distinct rock on Mars. This rock had black-and-white stripes on it, and looked fairly distinct from its surroundings, Live Science reported. The rover captured the rock's images using a camera mounted high on its mast. Scientists at NASA received the images on September 13. They named the never-before-seen rock- 'Freya Castle.' NASA researchers hope to get more images and samples to analyze the rock. The rock immediately became famous as 'zebra-rock,' on the Internet, NASA reported.

NASA's Perseverance Rover

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay

Perseverance is currently on its fifth campaign on Mars, Live Science reported. At present, the rover is climbing the steep slopes of the Jezero crater, where it first touched down in February 2021. The vehicle's objective is to look for signs of ancient life and gather clues about the early history of the Red Planet. The present voyage has been named 'Crater Rim Campaign' by NASA officials. "As we start the Crater Rim Campaign, our rover is in excellent condition, and the team is raring to see what’s on the roof of this place," Art Thompson, the Perseverance project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said.

Freya Castle

Image Source: NASA (NASA's Mars Perseverance rover captured this image of a black-and-white striped rock using its Left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. ) — Image Source: NASA(NASA's Mars Perseverance rover captured this image of a black-and-white striped rock using its Left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. )

The 'Freya Castle' rock was located on the pebbly terrain of Mars' Jezero crater by the rover, NASA reported. Immediately after receiving the images, experts began their analysis. "Our knowledge of its chemical composition is limited, but early interpretations are that igneous and/or metamorphic processes could have created its stripes," NASA representatives shared. Igneous processes are facilitated on a structure because of the crystallization of magma while metamorphic processes take place because of changes in the composition of rocks due to high heat and pressure, Live Science reported. As per the photos, Freya Castle Rock roughly measures 8 inches (20 centimeters) across.

Mars Rover's Other Exploits

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by SpaceX

Before the Freya Castle, the rover had discovered many other unique samples on the Red Planet, Live Science reported. The rover sent photos of ancient lake sediments potentially with microbial fossils, which was considered groundbreaking as it provided clues regarding ancient Martian life. Some other rocks, the rover captured included an unusually light-colored as well as a leopard-spotted structure boulder on the planet. The rover also noted a diverse collection of boulders at Mount Washburn, NASA reported.

Rock Texture Unlike Any

NASA researchers are thrilled by this discovery, the New York Post reported. "This rock has a texture unlike any seen in Jezero Crater before, and perhaps all of Mars," the agency said. NASA experts believe that the rock could have rolled out from further up the Mars' crater since it looks different from any rock ever seen before in Jezero Crater. "This possibility has us excited," NASA representatives said. "We hope that as we continue to drive uphill, Perseverance will encounter an outcrop of this new rock type so that more detailed measurements can be acquired." By the time, the agency received the pictures, the rover had left the area. They are now looking forward to having a sample or more pictures of the rock, to draw further conclusions.