An unusual image of a a light-coloured spaghetti-like object was taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover. The picture was taken by the rover’s left hazard avoidance camera on July 12. The unusual object, as the officials at the space agency certified, is a string left by the Perseverance’s landing.
From NASA’s JET Propulsion Laboratory, a spokesperson for the Perseverance mission said that the picture of the string-like object found on Mar’s red sand could be a component of a rocket-powered jet pack used to safely lower the rover to the planet’s surface.
The spokesperson further clarified, “Perseverance had not previously been in the area where the string was found, so it’s likely the wind blew it there.”
At present, Jezero Crater, an ancient delta, is being examined by the rover in search of signs of microscopic life on the red planet. The Perseverance originally landed on this crater on February 18, 2021. But four days later, the string-like object was not found when the Perseverance reverted to the same location.
The rover has come across many fragments of materials left on Mars from the rover’s descent. A tweet from the rover’s official account shared a photo of a fragment of a shiny foil in mid-June taken by Perseverance’s camera. This fragment of foil left from the rover’s descent is believed to be a part of the rover’s thermal blanket, a material that regulates the temperature of the rover.
NASA’s rover team is looking for more of such pieces left over on Mars and intends to release data on these objects this week.
