Who Left a 'Donut' on Mars? "A Meteorite That Fell from Outside"

A Photo Sent by Mars Exploration Rover
Focus on a Rock with a Hole Like a Donut
"Other Shapes Like Jelly Are Also Occasionally Found"

The Mars exploration rover 'Perseverance,' sent by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has attracted attention after discovering an unusually shaped rock.

The U.S. space-related media outlet Space.com reported on the 27th (local time) that Perseverance sent back a photo of a circular-shaped rock. The rock in the photo is dark in color and has a round hole in the center, resembling a donut. Around the rock, there are scattered fragments of stones.

The media referred to this rock shape as a "rocky donut" and suggested that the rock might be a meteorite that fell from outside Mars rather than being native to the planet.

A photo of a donut-shaped rock sent by Perseverance.
[Image source=Twitter]

The private scientific organization SET Institute, which actually tracks extraterrestrial intelligent life, speculated on Twitter that the photo might show "a large meteorite and surrounding fragment pieces."

This is not the first time Perseverance has found a meteorite on Mars. A few weeks after its first landing in February 2021, it also sent photos presumed to be fragments of meteorites.

Additionally, before Perseverance, the unmanned rover Curiosity, which conducted exploration activities on Mars, discovered a metallic meteorite about 0.3 meters wide. At that time, NASA named this meteorite "Cacao."

Curiosity also found a round rock resembling a golf ball, which NASA's team nicknamed the "Egg Rock." In January 2014, another NASA rover, Opportunity, discovered a red jelly-like rock, among other unusual meteorites frequently found on Mars.

Meanwhile, Perseverance, currently active, was launched from Earth on a rocket in July 2020 and safely landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. Perseverance is currently exploring the Martian surface, searching for traces of ancient life.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.