A tangled object spotted on Mars by NASA’s Mars 2020 rover has piqued the interest of space scientists, leading some to think it might be a piece of pasta.
A more logical and realistic explanation is that the object is probably the remains of a component used in the process of the rover’s robotic landing on Mars in February 2021.
A spokesperson for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said: “We were discussing the source of this object and there was speculation that this piece of rope belonged to a parachute or landing system used to gently lower the aircraft.” AFP
He added: “But we have no certainty about the possibility of the existence of these two.”
The object was first spotted on July 12 via a hazard prevention camera on the front left side of the car, but when the car returned to the same location four days later, the object had disappeared.
It was likely blown off by wind as a piece of thermal insulation the spacecraft observed last month may have been left over from the rocket’s engine-powered landing system. The accumulation of debris left behind by the spacecraft is a minor detriment to the practical goals of the mission, which is to search for vital fingerprints of ancient microbial life forms.
These elements may one day become valuable relics for future Mars colonists. Amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson tweeted: “In a hundred years or so, Martians will eagerly collect these pieces and put them in museums or turn them into ‘historical gems.’
Source: Lebanon Debate
