NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has just come across a “shiny bit of foil” stuck in the rock crevices of the Red Planet. The rover, which was sent to the planet to discover signs of past life, has served us with a photo of the mysterious object. The Perseverance team believes it knows what this material may be. The shiny material stuck in the rocks can be a piece of a thermal blanket that may have come from the descent stage when the rocket was landing on Mars in 2021. What’s interesting is that the descent stage crashed 2 km away from the planet’s surface.
NASA’s Perseverance team has dropped several photos and tweets. In the first post in the Twitter thread, we see the material being talked about. The caption read, “My team has spotted something unexpected: It’s a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021.”
My team has spotted something unexpected: It’s a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021. pic.twitter.com/O4rIaEABLu
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
The descent stage, to which this piece is believed to belong, had crashed 2 km away on the planet. So, did this piece drop here or was blown here by the winds? The post read, “That shiny bit of foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperatures. It’s a surprise finding this here: My descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind?”
That shiny bit of foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperatures. It’s a surprise finding this here: My descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind? pic.twitter.com/uVx3VdYfi8
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
The team has also shared a photo from the time when these thermal blankets were being wrapped around Perseverance. The caption read, “Here’s part of the team at JPL that wrapped me up in thermal blankets. Think of them as spacecraft dressmakers. They work with sewing machines and other tools to piece together these unique materials.”
Here’s part of the team at JPL that wrapped me up in thermal blankets. Think of them as spacecraft dressmakers. They work with sewing machines and other tools to piece together these unique materials.
More on that here: https://t.co/CNkUheYFnQ pic.twitter.com/PcMeow3FyO
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
People peered into the photo shared by NASA and observed more minute details. “The large, upright piece of rock the metal is lying against looks suspicious,” wrote one user.
The large, upright piece of rock the metal is lying against looks suspicious. Clearly different from the other,lighter-colored rocks around it. What looks like erosion on rock looks like part of a ship. Burned and aged,I can see it being metal. Angles etc.
— Desertairpirate???????? (@Laurenc13071661) June 16, 2022
Others commented on a lighter note. “Imagine if it was an alien crisp packet though – what flavour would it be?”
Imagine if it was an alien crisp packet though – what flavour would it be?
— its bostin’ (@itsbostin) June 16, 2022
Many have shown concern about littering other planets.
Is there anywhere that we don’t litter?
— Commandinator (@MadisonStreetNW) June 15, 2022
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been serving us with several spectacular photos from the Red Planet.