Persevere on Mars spies a piece of its landing gear

No, this is not evidence of advanced (but neglected) Martian life.

Monday (June 13), NASA perseverance rover Take a picture of a shiny silver object sandwiched between two rocks on the floor of Jezero crater in the red planet, which the car-sized robot has been exploring since its landing in February 2021.

This space trash is not original Mars; Rover dependents said perseverance brought it from the land.

“My team discovered something unexpected: a piece of a thermal blanket they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet beam that propelled me down on landing day in 2021,” persevere team members wrote. Via the rover’s Twitter account (Opens in a new tab) Today (June 15).

“This shiny part of the flake is part of a thermal blanket – a substance used to control temperatures. It’s a surprise to find this here: My descent stage crashed about 2 km away. [1.2 miles] far. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown away by the wind? ” Another Tweet (Opens in a new tab)which included a close-up of the overall piece.

This isn’t the first time we’ve taken a look at some of the gear that helped the Perseverance get through the red dirt safely. On April 19, NASA was small cleverness The helicopter hovered over the rover’s back cover and canopy, Take amazing photos from different angles.

NASA officials said these aerial images help engineers assess the performance and condition of the backsphere and sled, which could inform the design of future Mars missions.

This shiny part of the foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperatures. It’s a surprise to discover this here: my descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown away by the wind? pic.twitter.com/uVx3VdYfi8June 15 2022

Perseverance is looking for old signs Martian life And collect samples for future return to Earth. Billions of years ago, Jezero hosted a lake and river delta, and thus is a great place to do such work, said members of the expedition team.

The rover took a lot of interesting photos that don’t include scraps of its protective gear. During the weekend, for example, persevere picked up a file An unforgettable snapshot of the Jezero Delta Which featured a balanced boulder and boulder strikingly looking like the head of an open-mouthed snake.

Mike Wall is the author of “Abroad (Opens in a new tab)Book (Great Grand Publishing House, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book on the search for extraterrestrials. Follow him on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab) or on Facebook (Opens in a new tab).