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My colleague noticed something odd in this latest series of images from NASA’s Mars rover: It appears that a cobblestone has been carefully balanced on a jagged outcrop. How did it get there?
Photo taken at Jezero Crater to the right of Perseverance Mastkam-Z In SOL 466, corresponding to June 12, on Earth.
I emailed NASA to ask what the rock was and if there was anything really weird here. James Rice, a geologist on the Mastcam-Z team of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, wrote to me:
Offsetting rock (sometimes called unstable balanced rock (PBR)) of varying sizes, from small boulders (inches) to formations hundreds of feet high, occurs naturally and is not uncommon. Balance rock is often actually attached to a larger bedrock by a rod or bed. The Martian balance rock shown in the Rockytop outcrop was found near the delta bottom, and likely formed after strong winds (wind) and/or chemical erosion formed from local rock.
These types of features are more than just a geological curiosity; They are even called “reverse seismometers” because the presence of PBR makes it possible to measure earthquakes/swamps that do not occur. If these rocks are still balanced, it means the Earth hasn’t moved enough to knock them down. So we can use this feature to learn about the seismic history of the area.
Ah yes, PBR is a classic. Glad this was clarified!
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At about the same time as this picture was taken, the Perseverance rover got a photo of a piece of shiny material tucked into some rock, which NASA says could be part of the rover’s thermal blanket from its 2021 landing. NASA chirp The rover landed within 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) of where the remains of the blanket were found, but suggests it could have been moved by the wind or landed there alone.
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we get Weird pictures of Mars During this time, we saw a rock that looked like a squirrel and a spoon entrance, and much more. Our eyes play tricks on us, and this is especially true when looking at exotic landscapes filled with familiar and unfamiliar sights. We see a 2D representation of a 3D world, so this optical illusion is bound to happen.
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