(Image: NASA)
After a decade on the Martian surface, you might think that NASA鈥檚 Opportunity rover has seen it all. But just before the 10th anniversary of the rover鈥檚 landing, its operators got a surprise treat: a weird rock 鈥渕aterialised鈥� right in front of the rover鈥檚 wheels.
The image on the left was taken by the rover鈥檚 panoramic camera on the 3528th sol, or Martian day, of the mission. The image on the right is of the same spot 12 days later. It shows an additional rock about the size of a doughnut that seems to have appeared out of the blue.
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鈥淲e just all went, 鈥楬uh? What鈥檚 going on?'鈥� says rover project scientist at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very interesting when you see a rock that wasn鈥檛 there before. It鈥檚 a fun surprise.鈥�
Nicknamed Pinnacle Island, the rock has a raised ridge and a hollowed-out centre. The rover team is not sure where it came from, but they suspect it could have been ejected by a nearby meteorite impact 鈥� or dropped there by the rover itself. 鈥淚t鈥檚 most likely just a rock that was picked up and kicked by the wheel, which clicked it over to a new spot,鈥� says Golombek.
Stiff joints
If the rock landed upside-down, it could be presenting a side of Mars that has protected from the harsh atmosphere and radiation environment for billions of years. That would give us an unprecedented look at Martian material that has not been blasted by winds and cosmic rays.
The team plans to manoeuvre the rover so it can examine the rock with its suite of instruments, which would give high-resolution photographs and reveal its elemental composition. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 an interesting rock, we鈥檒l find out soon enough when we get our measurements on it,鈥� says Golombek.
But it may take Opportunity a few days to shift into position. The shoulder joint on the aging rover鈥檚 instrument arm is stuck, so the team will have to position the entire rover precisely to align the arm with its target.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happens when you have something in late-middle age on Mars,鈥� says Golombek. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 like what they say when you get older: it鈥檚 better than the alternative.鈥�
