Is it a type of desert rolling plant? A fishing line? Or spaghetti?
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Perseverance, NASA’s Mars rover, discovered an object that has intrigued space observers and even provoked ironic comments that question the quality of this “dish” of Italian cuisine on the surface of the red planet.
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However, apart from the observers’ “creative” guesses, the most plausible explanation is that it is the remains of a component used to land the robotic explorer on the surface of Mars in February 2021.
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“We have been discussing where it came from, but it is speculated that it is a piece of rope from the parachute or the landing system that brings the robot to the ground,” a spokesman for a NASA laboratory, the space agency, told AFP. from United States.
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“It must be borne in mind that it is not confirmed that it is one or the other,” he added.
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The wreckage was first detected on July 12, through the hazard avoidance camera located on the front left of the rover.
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Four days later, when Perseverance returned to the same place, the objects were no longer there.
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The wind probably dragged them along, as had already happened with a piece of thermal blanket spotted last month, which may have come out of the rocket-propelled landing system.
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Perseverance’s accumulation of “junk” is considered a small price to pay for the robot’s scientific goals: seeking out biological signs of ancient microbial life forms.
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In addition, someday these objects could become valuable artifacts for future Mars colonists.
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“Within a hundred years or so, Martians will enthusiastically gather all this material to display in museums or turn them into ‘historical treasures,'” tweeted “amateur astronomer” Stuart Atkinson.
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