Latest news with #DavidAgle
New York Post
5 days ago
- Science
- New York Post
NASA rover spots rock shaped like medieval helmet on Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover stationed on Mars spotted a dome-shaped rock with a striking resemblance to a helmet used during medieval times. The martian rock, captured by Perseverance's primary camera on Aug. 5, is pointed at the top and dome-shaped on top of a flared brim. It has a rough, textured surface covered in small bumps. 3 NASA's Perseverance rover spotted a rock shaped like a medieval helmet on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU / SWNS Advertisement The image was selected as Perseverance's best photo during its 234th week on Mars, though scientists working on its team noted it's not the first time the rover has encountered that type of igneous rock. 'This rock's target name is Horneflya and it's distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it's made almost entirely of spherules,' David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told 3 Perseverance launched in July 2020. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASUS / SWNS Advertisement The rock's odd composition will help scientists further understand how Mars' environmental history, including its 'internal processes,' formed the unique landscape over billions of years, the outlet reported. Perseverance's primary mission, though, isn't to collect baubles. The rover was launched on July 30, 2020 to search for ancient microbial life on the Red Planet to aid scientists in studying its habitability. Its research will help scientists get closer to sending a person to Mars as NASA inches ever closer to its final goal in the Artemis program, which seeks to establish a permanent base on the Moon to oversee the first astronaut landing on the Red Planet. Advertisement SpaceX CEO and former Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk is also eyeing interests on Mars with loose plans to launch uncrewed trips as early as 2028. 3 There are currently five NASA rovers on Mars. ESA/MPS et al. / SWNS In the meantime, Perseverance has been working overtime. It was first sent to survey the Jezero Crater to probe Mars' 'wet history' — a trek it only just completed in December 2024 three years after landing. Advertisement 'Conceivably, microbial life could have lived in Jezero during one or more of these wet times. If so, signs of their remains might be found in lakebed or shoreline sediments,' NASA says on the home page for the mission. NASA currently has four other rovers on Mars. Sojourner, the oldest and most antiquated of the five, landed on Mars in July 1997, according to NASA. The second-eldest rover, Opportunity, was originally built to last just three months on Mars. Instead, it pressed on for a staggering 15 years before shutting down in 2019.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures Mysterious Rock On Mars That Looks Like "Helmet"
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover captured an image of a volcano-shaped rock resembling a weathered battle helmet on August 5, 2025. The rover is currently looking for ancient life on Mars, and also collecting samples of rock for possible Earth return. During the process, the rover often stumbles upon curious rocks. According to a report by the helmet-like rock would help scientists to understand the environmental history of Mars. NASA said that the rover acquired this image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera, which is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. Scientists believe the rock's unique shape and texture could be the result of chemical weathering, mineral precipitation, or volcanic processes. The rock is composed of spherules, which are tiny, perfectly shaped spheres that have sparked debate among scientists about their origin. "This hat-shaped rock is composed of spherules. This rock's target name is Horneflya and it's distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it's made almost entirely of spherules," David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the media outlet. The spherules could have formed through minerals deposited by groundwater in sediment spaces, or molten rock droplets cooling rapidly after volcanic eruptions. Violent collisions vaporising rock, which then condenses into tiny droplets, can also form such spherules.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Science
- USA Today
NASA's Perseverance rover captures image on Mars that resembles a helmet
NASA's Perseverance rover has added to its trove of curious finds, as the space agency published a photo of a rock on the surface of Mars that looks like a centuries-old helmet. The rock has a pointed peak, a flared "brim," and textures that could lead reasonable observers to compare it to a witch's hat or a tent. The texture is formed by spherules on the rock. Similar formations found on Earth are created through chemical weathering, mineral precipitation or volcanic processes, according to The image, taken Aug. 5 by the rover's Left Mastcam-Z camera, was chosen as the photo of the week for week 234 of its mission on Mars. "This rock's target name is Horneflya and it's distinctive less because of its hat shape (which looks to me to be generally consistent with the pyramid shape we often see in of wind-eroded float blocks on the surface of Mars) and more because it's made almost entirely of spherules," David Agle, a spokesperson for the Perseverance team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the space news outlet. It is not the first time the rover has found a spherule-covered rock, having sent back a photo of a studded rock in March. Camera key to Mars discoveries The Left Mastcam-Z camera on the Perseverance can capture panoramic color and 3D images of the planet's surface, according to NASA, allowing scientists and observers to see Martian features more clearly. The rover is searching for signs of ancient microbial life as a part of a larger undertaking to understand the habitability of Mars. The helmet rock provides scientist a clue on what Mar's environmental history, according to Perseverance was sent to survey Jezero Crater to study the "wet history" of the Red Planet. The rover completed the climb to the summit of the crater in December 2024, three years after landing. "Conceivably, microbial life could have lived in Jezero during one or more of these wet times," NASA says on the home page for the mission. "If so, signs of their remains might be found in lakebed or shoreline sediments." Perseverance's research is intended to pave the way for humans to reach Mars in the years ahead under NASA's Artemis program, which will begin with astronauts returning to the moon to establish a base of operations. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has also expressed his vision of launching uncrewed trips to the Red Planet before humans reach it ‒ perhaps as early as 2028. Contributing: Eric Lagatta – USA TODAY
