Space & Astronomy
NASA's Mars rover photographs rock shaped like an avocado
By
T.K. RandallSeptember 17, 2023 ·
4 comments
What sort of rock is this ? Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
The rather unusual object was captured on camera in Jezero Crater by the Perseverance rover earlier this month.
From doors and giant crabs to the faces of President Obama and Beaker from The Muppets - there have certainly been a lot of strange sightings on the surface of Mars over the years.
With its barren landscape strewn with randomly shaped boulders, rocky outcrops and other geological features, it's perhaps not surprising that Mars is a prime location to see examples of pareidolia - the human brain's natural tendency to see meaningful shapes in otherwise abstract patterns.
This latest example, which was snapped on September 8th by the Mastcam-Z camera aboard NASA's Perseverance rover, shows a rock that happens to look like an avocado that has been cut in half.
The rounded interior part of the rock resembles the stone inside the fruit, while a second stone next to it on the ground looks a bit like the second half of the avocado facing down.
The unusual find is the latest in a string of discoveries made by NASA's flagship rover in Jezero Crater where it continues its mission to seek out signs that life may have once existed on the Red Planet.
There were probably never any avocado trees on Mars, though.
Source:
IFL Science |
Comments (4)
Tags:
Mars
Please Login or Register to post a comment.