NASA’s Perseverance Robot Discovers ‘Something Unexpected’ on Mars | Sciences

It’s a piece of aluminum foil that agency scientists believe was part of a thermal blanket used to protect the robot before it landed on the Red Planet.

• Mission to Mars: Stunning images of NASA’s first 100 days on the Red Planet
• NASA robot confirms signs of an ancient lake fed by a river on Mars

The unusual thing about this, according to NASA, is the fact that the material has been found About 2 km from the Perseverance landing site.

“It’s a surprise to find this here,” says the bot’s official social media account.

“That piece landed here afterwards [do impacto]Or was it carried away by the wind? ‘ asks NASA.

Mars has a thin atmosphere consisting mostly of carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen and a small amount of oxygen. According to NASA, the winds in powerful dust storms on the planet can cause gusts of more than 90 km / h.

The robot landed in February 2022, at Jezero Crater, an area of ​​the planet that was once a lake for billions of years.

Perseverance is on the planet as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.

The goal of the project is not only to better understand star formation and early development, but also to analyze the history of the geological processes that have shaped Mars over time and the scientific interpretation of the planet’s potential to host life.

• Scientific interpretation of the mysterious door seen in a picture of Mars

In addition, the mission also aims to help understand the geology of Mars, which is key to preparing for a possible manned flight to the planet.

Since the arrival of Perseverance on the Red Planet, NASA’s robot has already taken many intriguing photos. See more here.