Newly discovered Mars boulder offers clues to planet’s past
- A unique white boulder appears to be a new type of rock
- The find suggests Mars' crust may have been more complex in the past
- It's currently unclear if NASA will be able to bring Mars samples to Earth
Stitched together from 18 images taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover, this mosaic shows a boulder field on “Mount Washburn” on May 27. Intrigued by the diversity of textures and chemical composition in the light-toned boulder at center, the rover’s science team nicknamed the rock “Atoko Point.”
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
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(NewsNation) — NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered new, popcorn-like rocks and a boulder unlike any other seen on Mars before.
The rover was investigating the “Bright Angel” area inside the Jezero Crater rim. As it reached a point known as “Mount Washburn,” scientists noticed one boulder that stood out, a light-colored rock among a sea of darker objects.
The stone, christened “Atoko Point” by scientists, appears to have a composition unlike any encountered on the red planet before. Initial analysis suggests it is an anorthosite rock, a type of rock primarily made from feldspar and linked to lava flows.
The discovery of an anorthosite rock suggests that Mars’ early crust could have been more complex and more similar to Earth’s crust than it is now.
Perseverance also discovered some rocks with densely packed, small spheres that have been described as popcorn-like. That has led scientists to believe groundwater once flowed through the rocks.
NASA’s Perseverance rover was traveling in the ancient Neretva Vallis river channel when it captured this view of an area of scientific interest named “Bright Angel” — the light-toned area in the distance at right — with one of its navigation cameras on June 6. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) 
Stitched together from 18 images taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover, this mosaic shows a boulder field on “Mount Washburn” on May 27. Intrigued by the diversity of textures and chemical composition in the light-toned boulder at center, the rover’s science team nicknamed the rock “Atoko Point.” (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS) 
Superimposed on an image from NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter, this map shows Perseverance’s path between Jan. 21 and June 11. White dots indicate where the rover stopped after completing a traverse beside Neretva Vallis river channel. The pale blue line indicates the rover’s route inside the channel. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
The rover has sent images and data of the objects back to NASA but has not taken physical samples, in part because scientists expect to discover other similar boulders.
There is also a question of whether samples taken by Perseverance will make it back to Earth at all. The rover is designed to collect them, but the Mars Sample Return mission has been facing rising costs, leading Congress to threaten cancellation.
