Perseverance rover spots unusual striped rock on Mars
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Last week, team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white striped rock unlike any seen on Mars before. Is this a sign of exciting discoveries to come?
It has now nearly been a month since the rover began its climb up the steep slopes leading to the crater rim, on the hunt for ancient rocks that could teach us about early Martian history. While these tricky slopes made for a slow initial ascent, drive progress has improved greatly in recent days, as Perseverance has cruised along a flatter stretch. From this overlook, the rover can now spot landmarks from earlier in the mission like the iconic Kodiak butte on the hazy horizon, thick with dust from nearby dust storms.
While driving across unremarkable pebbly terrain, beady-eyed team members spotted a cobble in the distance with hints of an unusual texture in low resolution Navcam images, and gave it the name Freya Castle. The team planned a multispectral observation using the Mastcam-Z camera in order to get a closer look before driving away.
