NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers “Petrified Book” on Mars

• A petrified book on Mars?
• It was photographed by the camera of the Curiosity rover

A rock has been discovered on the planet Mars that looks like an open book with a page turned in the middle, frozen in time. The rare geological formation was photographed by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, which is part of NASA’s Curiosity rover.

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Curiosity discovered a petrified book

Even more impressive than finding out that the Martians might be bibliophiles is that this “book” is only 2.5 centimeters in diameter, suggesting that the aliens also have excellent eyesight or are quite tiny themselves. However, it is not a mystery.

“Rocks of unusual shapes are common on Mars,” according to NASA representatives. “Strangely shaped stones are formed by minerals left behind by ancient water. These minerals were once buried under softer sediments, but billions of years of wind erosion have carried away everything else.”

The official account of the Curiosity rover commented on the image on social networks as follows: “Just doing a little reading. My team thinks this uniquely shaped pebble resembles an open book with its pages fluttering in the wind.”

NASA is looking for signs of life on Mars

NASA’s Curiosity rover is a car-sized mobile laboratory that successfully landed on Mars in August 2012. It is part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission to explore Gale Crater and analyze its climate, geology, and past and present possibilities settlement.

Equipped with state-of-the-art scientific instruments, including cameras, spectrometers and sensors, Curiosity conducts experiments and collects data to help scientists understand the history and evolution of Mars. Among the rover’s most significant discoveries are evidence of ancient riverbeds and the presence of organic molecules that suggest the possibility that microbial life once existed on Mars.

Preview photo source: NASA, source: scitechdaily, NASA