Donut-shaped rock spotted on Mars (photo)

NASA's Perseverance, a Mars Reconnaissance Rover, has been in the spotlight after colliding with a strange doughnut-shaped rock on the surface of Mars. Representatives of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, theorized that the rock could be a large meteorite that split during its impact on the Red Planet.

The discovery has become a cause for excitement among the scientific community, astronomers and amateur astronomers, ScienceAlert reports.

It is noted that on June 23, Perseverance noticed this mysterious dark-colored stone with a characteristic hole in the center, which got into the lens of the rover. A photo of the donut stone, which was processed by amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson, was published on June 24.

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According to representatives of the SETI Institute, its color and origin indicate a probable cosmic origin.

It's worth noting that the discovery of a meteorite on Mars is not out of the ordinary. Other rovers such as Curiosity and Opportunity have also found space rocks on the Red Planet. Perseverance itself discovered a potential meteorite just a few weeks after its landing in February 2021. The finding of the donut rock is another interesting discovery during the rover's mission.

Perseverance is currently exploring the crater Jezero on Mars, where a large lake and river delta once existed. The goal of the mission is to search for traces of past life and collect samples for later return to Earth. The car-sized Perseverance is in constant contact with the team on Earth, which manages its actions and analyzes the data it receives.

During its mission, the rover is also supported by a small helicopter called Ingenuity. Weighing only 1.8 kg, Ingenuity has already successfully completed five demonstration flights on Mars, which confirmed the possibility of aerial research on the planet. Ingenuity is now on an extended mission, exploring routes and science objectives for Perseverance.

Earlier, NASA's Curiosity rover recently found an interesting find on the Red Planet - a stone that surprised scientists. Researchers are going to study its chemical composition and find out its origin.

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