Aliens may not be terraforming Mars, but one of NASA’s rovers has discovered something intriguing with an unusual texture that might catch the eye of a cauliflower enthusiast. Curiosity, a lab on wheels about the size of a Mini Cooper, recently traversed rugged terrain in March when its navigation camera captured images of Martian rocks that were unlike any seen before. The scientists overseeing the rover’s mission noted the uniqueness of these findings.
An anthropomorphic message from the Curiosity account on X expressed surprise at the discovery, questioning the nature of the lumpy rocks. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the planet, approximately 2,300 miles away, NASA’s Perseverance rover encountered a different kind of bumpy rock, reminiscent of the famous “Martian blueberries” that the Opportunity rover found in 2004.
Curiosity’s mission, which began in 2011, has covered about 352,000,020 miles, both in space and across Martian terrain. It is currently headed toward a previously unexplored section of Gale Crater known as a “boxwork” region, which likely formed from warm groundwater ages ago.
Stealing the spotlight from its younger counterpart, Perseverance, Curiosity made a significant discovery earlier this week with one of its rock samples. Researchers detected the largest organic molecules yet found on Mars within the sample, indicating that the chemistry necessary for life may have developed more extensively on the planet than previously thought. These molecules, containing long chains of carbon atoms, could be akin to fatty acids, essential for life on Earth. Though this discovery, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is not proof of life, it fuels optimism that other, more complex molecules related to life might still exist on Mars. Scientists have historically been skeptical about such evidence remaining intact after millions of years of radiation and environmental changes.
Curiosity has added scientific value, naming its newly discovered rocks Manzana Creek and Palo Comado, and capturing images for documentation. The leftward rock in the image displays jagged, vertical surfaces and a rough texture. Perseverance, on the other hand, found a rock named St. Pauls Bay that is covered in millimeter-scale beads resembling a cluster of miniature peas.
The discoveries of both rovers have puzzled scientists. Alex Jones, a researcher on the Mars 2020 mission team, questioned the geological processes that could create such unusual shapes in a blog post. Spherical features on rocks can be created through water flow, forming mineral concretions over time, or through volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts that produce molten rock droplets, which solidify into small balls.
Scientists continue to examine the rocks using the rovers’ available tools, and these findings have intensified NASA’s interest in returning samples to Earth for detailed analysis. Presently, the space agency is working on its Mars Sample Return mission, aiming to retrieve rock, dust, and air samples collected by Perseverance. NASA will explore two new potential approaches over the next year that are considered less complex and costly.