Space & Astronomy

Scientists shocked to discover rock covered in tiny spherules on Mars

By T.K. Randall
March 28, 2025 ·  8 comments

What are these strange spherules ? Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech This image, which was photographed on the rim of Jezero crater at a location known as Broom Point, shows a strange 'bubbly' rock that looks quite unlike anything else the rover has come across in the region to date.

Nicknamed "St. Pauls Bay" by the rover's science team, the rock appears to be covered in hundreds of tiny millimeter-sized spheres - some long and elliptical and others with angular edges.

Some of the spheres even seem to have tiny pinholes in them.

So exactly how could something like this have formed on Mars ?

While the exact process responsible currently remains unclear, there are two main possibilities.The first, is that the spherules could be concretions that formed due to the interaction between water and pores in the rock (NASA's rovers have long searched for signs of water on Mars).

It is also possible that the spherules were formed through volcanic processes.

"Placing these features in geologic context will be critical for understanding their origin, and determining their significance for the geological history of the Jezero crater rim and beyond," said Alex Jones, a doctoral researcher at Imperial College London.

Below, you can check out a close-up of the spherules captured by the rover's SuperCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) instrument.

Shocking Spherules!

Last week the Perseverance Science Team were astonished by a strange rock comprised of hundreds of millimeter-sized spheres... and the team are now working hard to understand their origin. https://t.co/oZIAdwFUY9 #Mars https://t.co/GyvvffKFMu pic.twitter.com/iqD5DWy2kL

- Daniel Pomarède (@DanielPomarede) March 22, 2025

Source: Forbes | Comments (8)

Tags: Mars