Did someone spill a plate of spaghetti on Mars? That’s what you might think if you let your imagination run wild. Unless it’s a fossilized creature. In reality, what we see in this image transmitted by the Perseverance rover is quite another thing.
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[EN VIDÉO] The incredible landing of Perseverance on Mars Nasa’s Perseverance Mars 2020 mission captured fascinating images of its rover landing in the Martian crater Jezero on February 18, 2021. © Nasa / JPL-Caltech
A gatea snake’s head, a stone in balance… For a few weeks and months, the missions that explore the surface of the planet Mars currently (Curiosity and Perseverance for NASA) never stop revealing funny and intriguing images. This time it’s Perseverance’s turn again. A photo that NASA’s rover sent back to Earth in early July shows something that might look like a plate of spaghetti. Or tangled laces, your choice.
The image was taken on July 12 — Sol 495 — by one of the so-called hazard avoidance cameras that scan the landscape ahead of the rover. To avoid disappointment. But NASA teams have not yet managed to clearly identify the object.
More and more debris on Mars
However, it’s a safe bet that the object in question is nothing more than a new space debris. Probably a residue of thelanding of Perseverance on Mars over a year ago now. It wouldn’t be the first time such debris has appeared in NASA images.
Already last month, Perseverance had spotted a shiny piece of metal. Identified as most likely a piece of its heat shield. A little earlier in the year, it’s thehelicopter Ingenuity who had pointed out other landing debris. Among which, the parachute of Perseverance. So much proof that space exploration leaves traces. And maybe the opportunity to seize the issue before it becomes a real problem.
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