NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover has discovered an unusual iron- and nickel-rich rock on Mars that scientists believe may be a meteorite \u2014 a fragment that originated elsewhere in the solar system.<\/p>\n
During its latest survey of the bedrock in the \u201cVernodden\u201d region, the rover identified a striking, sculpted rock named \u201cPhippsaksla,\u201d measuring about 80 centimeters across. Its tall, carved appearance stood out sharply against the surrounding flat, fractured terrain.<\/p>\n
Using its SuperCam instrument, Perseverance analyzed the rock and found it to be high in iron and nickel \u2014 a hallmark of iron-nickel meteorites formed in the cores of large asteroids. This suggests the rock may have originated beyond Mars before landing on the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
NASA scientists say further analysis is required before confirming its meteorite status. If verified, it would join the list of meteorites examined by previous Mars rovers.<\/p>\n
Perseverance mission overview<\/p>\n
Launched on July 30, 2020, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Perseverance arrived on Mars on February 18, 2021. The rover carries seven advanced scientific instruments and is designed to:<\/p>\n
-Search for signs of ancient microbial life<\/p>\n
-Study the geology and climate of Mars<\/p>\n
-Collect and cache rock and soil samples for future return missions<\/p>\n
-Test new technologies for upcoming human exploration<\/p>\n
Weighing just under 2,300 pounds, the rover is about the size of a small car.<\/p>\n
Part of NASA\u2019s Moon-to-Mars strategy<\/p>\n
Perseverance plays a key role in NASA\u2019s broader Moon to Mars exploration plan. Through the Artemis program, NASA aims to establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 as preparation for eventual human missions to Mars.<\/p>\n
Managed by NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission continues to advance understanding of Mars\u2019 ancient environments \u2014 and possibly, its rocky visitors from deep space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover has discovered an unusual iron- and nickel-rich rock on Mars that scientists believe may be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[85321,61,60,85318,2704,16649,91,9135,85320,82,85319],"class_list":["post-150745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-artemis-program","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-iron-nickel","tag-mars","tag-meteorite","tag-nasa","tag-perseverance-rover","tag-phippsaksla","tag-science","tag-vernodden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}