Photo of Strange Object Gets Scientists Thinking
A picture taken by NASA's Mars rover shows a mysterious donut-shaped object on the surface of the Red Planet. Scientists debate the origin of this Martian miracle.
Launched in July 2020, the Perseverance rover continues to probe the planet's 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero crater for signs of ancient microbial life, according to NASA. The rover is collecting samples of rocks, rock fragments and soil (called regolith) for possible return to Earth in a future Martian mission.
According to CNN, the Martian «donut» – one of the last objects taken at a distance of about 100 meters in the delta of the Jezero crater with the SuperCam remote microvisor – one of the rover's cameras, which helps scientists see what's on the planet's surface.
The team running Perseverance didn't get the rover to approach the donut-shaped rock to examine it or take samples, so its exact composition and origins are unknown, said Jim Rice, assistant researcher at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Studies. Rice, who works on the imaging team on the Mastcam-Z rover, first spotted the rock on June 14.
Scientists have several hypotheses as to where the rock came from, CNN notes.
“I can't say with absolute, 100% certainty that it's not a meteorite, but I think it's extremely unlikely, – says Jim Rice. – The reason I say this is because in this region where we are, we see a lot of rocks with this kind of gouged innards”.
According to Rice, the typical rocks in this region are sedimentary sandstones, probably several billion years old: it's the canal that brought all the water, rocks, and sediment there.”
The scientist added that the river channel probably carried the donut-shaped rock from another area. According to Rice, the size of the stone exceeds 25 centimeters (nearly 10 inches) wide, but it is not known how exactly.
Another stone may have ended up in the center of the donut-shaped rock before the weather eroded it, leaving a cavity, he added. The wind can also gradually enlarge any small pits or depressions that were already there. Or the stone could just be looser in the center.
“Actually, from a scientific point of view, this is nothing special”, – Rice speculates.
But Pascal Lee, senior planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, said he thought the rock could be a meteorite, given past sightings of meteorites on Mars, as well as the planet's proximity to the Asteroid Belt and its ability to store meteorites .
The unusual rock is surrounded by smaller rocks or fragments, “so it might be a meteorite that crashed upon landing”, – suggests Pascal Lee. In this case, the donut shape could have been created by weaker materials in the rock breaking apart as it entered the Martian atmosphere, he added.
It is also possible that the rock was «thrown out of another part of Mars in a collision with a large asteroid.» ;, – suggested by Pascal Lee. – This is called an ejection block. …I would recommend that Perseverance deviate from its current course to test this”.
According to Jim Rice, the rover team has no plans to do so, as it is currently steering Perseverance in the opposite direction, toward the boulders, which she will eventually sample.
The Martian “doughnut” – is not the only baking-shaped rock found on the Red Planet. According to Pascal Lee, in 2014, NASA's Opportunity rover discovered a small rock that is white on the outside and red on the inside. like a jelly donut.