Aliens on Mars? NASA rover stumbles upon object that doesn't belong there

NASA's Perseverance rover recently came across an unusually shaped rock that is about 31 inches wide, and almost an oddity on the Red Planet. The discovery was made in the Vernodden area of Jezero Crater, the Martian region the rover has been scanning since it landed there in 2021. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has named the "Phippsaksla" and believes it is likely a meteorite. What intrigued scientists back home about the rock was its sculpted, high-standing appearance. The other rocks in the area were flat and low-lying. The SuperCam instrument, which examines rocks and soils using a camera, laser and spectrometers, revealed that it had high iron and nickel content. These materials are typically associated with meteorites that form inside the core of larger asteroids. This was a hint that the rock wasn't always on Mars and came from someplace else in the solar system.

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Curiosity rover also found meteorites on Mars

The rover is also checking the rock to ascertain whether it could be somehow linked to life on Mars that is believed to have existed on the planet billions of years ago. Similar meteorite-like rocks have been found on Mars in the past as well. The Curiosity rover found a few of these in the Gale crater, including “Lebanon” in 2014 and the “Cacao” meteorite in 2023. Opportunity and Spirit also came across iron-nickel meteorites while traversing the Red Planet. The NASA team will carry out more investigations to confirm that this rock is definitely a meteorite. If the results come back positive, Perseverance will be able to add its name to the list of Martian rovers that have found outer space visitors.

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In September, NASA announced that it had found the strongest evidence yet of past life on Mars. A rock sample named “Sapphire Canyon,” collected from a dried riverbed in the Jezero Crater, was found to be carrying chemical signatures that scientists say could be of biological origin. It was located in an area known as the “Cheyava Falls” in 2024, located in a geological area known as the Bright Angel formation. This site is believed to have been shaped by flowing water billions of years ago. “This is the most compelling evidence to date for potential ancient life on Mars,” NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy said at the time.