Perseverance found weird popcorn rocks and rocks with mineral veins. Both are evidence of flowing water, and a closer look will reveal more.
This image shows a jumbled field of light toned rocks with unusual ‘popcorn’-like textures and abundant mineral veins. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Right Mastcam-Z camera. This image was acquired on June 10, 2024 at the local mean solar time of 14:04:57. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
On Sol 1175 of its mission, Perseverance arrived at Bright Angel, a scientifically interesting region that’s part of the river channel that fed into Jezero Crater. Bright Angel is noted for light-toned rocky outcrops that are either ancient sediments that filled the channel or much older rock exposed by the river.
As Perseverance worked its way toward Bright Angel, mission personnel could see the light rocks in the distance. But the route to the new destination wasn’t easy. The rover encountered a boulder field that proved so arduous that operators changed course. “We had been eyeing the river channel just to the north as we went, hoping to find a section where the dunes were small and far enough apart for a rover to pass between — because dunes have been known to eat Mars rovers,” said Graser. “Perseverance also needed an entrance ramp we could safely travel down. When the imagery showed both, we made a beeline for it.”
Perseverance is nearing the end of its fourth science phase. It’s been searching for carbonate rocks and olivine in the Margin Unit, which is along the inside of Jezero Crater’s rim. But at Bright Angel, it hoped to find different rocks.According to a NASA press release, geologists were mesmerized by what they saw. Some of the rocks are densely packed with spheres, which earned them the name ‘popcorn rocks.’ The rocks are also full of ridges that look like mineral veins.
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