(ORDO NEWS) — The Curiosity rover took a photo of the surface of Mars, on which a stone was spotted, which puzzled NASA experts. The stone of an unusual gray color is located on red rock.
The researchers named the stone Pau Baru. It may be a meteorite or a fragment of rock from another region that was carried by wind or water.
In the near future, the mission team intends to study the stone and determine its composition and possible origin.
The Curiosity rover was launched in 2012, its main task was to study Gale Crater, a large impact formation with a massive layered mountain in the middle.
As the rover moved across the surface of the Red Planet, it discovered unusual geological features.
In 2016, the rover discovered an unusual dark object of unknown origin about the size of a golf ball on the surface of Mars.
Chemical analysis showed a high content of nickel, iron and phosphorus, indicating that the stone is an iron-nickel meteorite.
Researchers have previously discovered meteorites on Mars, but this one was the first to be studied.
And in 2014, Curiosity found an extremely large meteorite called “Lebanon I” and a smaller fragment called “Lebanon II”.
Scientists were surprised that the two-meter iron meteorite did not crumble when entering the Martian atmosphere.
The largest iron meteorite that has been found on Earth is the Hoba meteorite, which is 2.7 meters wide at its widest point.
Scientists believe that our planet’s atmosphere slowed the rock enough that it collided with the surface at a terminal velocity low enough to prevent disintegration on impact.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.