The photo of the flower-shaped rock was taken with a camera. Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) Attached to the wrist Curiosity The picture was taken from the premises of Aiolis Mons Also known as Mount Sharp In the middle of the crater Gail crater On February 24, 2022

Although such photos are like ground photos.TuesdayCommon, but when zoomed in, you will see very small stones in the shape of flowers or corals. Its width is only about 1 cm. Freeman in Abigail Rover is a Planetary Scientist and Deputy Project Scientist. Curiosity Said

“This stone is called like a flower Blackthorn salt It looks like thisDiagnostics Or rocks made from minerals from ancient waters that once mixed with the rocks of Mars. The diagnostic features found on Mars are similar in size. But may have a branched shape, for example, also known as dendritic form Balkathon salt Or round or more spherical, just like the other rocks in the picture. ”

Curiosity Part of the big Explorer rover mission Mars Science Laboratory Of NASA It has been deployed to Mars since November 26, 2011. It is about the size of a basketball player, with a mechanical arm about 7 feet long, capable of carrying a kit of 10 advanced science instruments, including 17 cameras, a laser for ablation, and microscopic study. In the distance is an agar to collect powdered rock samples.

Mission Curiosity Evidence is being sought to find the answer to the question TuesdayHas there ever been an environment conducive to the support of so-called microorganisms? With Gail crater (The place where the flower-shaped rock was found) was one of its exploration targets.

Information from jpl.nasa.gov And mars.nasa.gov.

Image courtesy of jpl.nasa.gov