Perseverance rover by NASA has become a vehicle for transporting Martian rocks. At the beginning of 2022, a stone got stuck in the rover’s left front wheel, which is still present there, while another more enormous gem joined it in the rover’s right front wheel.
In late February, Simeon Schmauss, an astrophotographer, observed a new rock and tweeted a mosaic image of the two stones in the front wheels of Percy. The hazard avoidance cameras are mounted on the rover’s left and right sides at a low position. captured the image
At the beginning of last year, the @NASAPersevere rover discovered a companionless rock with its left front wheel. Considering the considerable time since then, the rock must have felt quite solitary. Still, yesterday it encountered a new companion that hopped into the right front wheel to alleviate its isolation.
The HazCams are utilized to monitor the terrain that the rover travels on and keep track of the condition of the wheels. Interestingly, they are also able to detect any unwelcome rocky passengers. The latest addition was initially spotted in an unprocessed image that was transmitted back by the rover on February 27th. On March 1st, the camera zoomed in for a closer look at the rock shrouded in shadows.
Percy’s ancient companion rock has accompanied the rover for many miles, observing the gathering of rock samples and establishing the first sample storage site on a foreign planet. The primary objective of Perseverance’s mission is to aid us in comprehending whether Mars had previously sustained microbial existence. The successful delivery of the rover’s sample collection to Earth for further investigation via the future Mars Sample Return mission is essential to this endeavour.
Explaining 59 Unusual Objects Spotted on Mars
+59 additional photos are available.
It remains to be seen whether the new wheel obstacle will stay in place or become dislodged as Perseverance continues to roam through the Jezero Crater. NASA previously expressed no concern about the original rock, stating last year that it was “not believed to pose a risk.” NASA has not yet provided a comment in response to a request.
Mars is known for its rocky terrain, which the Curiosity rover and its rough wheels can confirm. NASA redesigned the aluminium wheels for the Percy rover to withstand the challenges of traversing an unforgiving environment.
Maybe the takeaway message is that the true treasure in exploring Mars is the friendships we form with rocks along the journey.
