Strange Green Spots On The Surface Of Mars Remain A Mystery After Being Discovered By NASA’s Perseverance Rover
For nearly four years now, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been exploring the surface of Mars as part of the Mars 2020 mission, traversing across ancient terrain, gathering samples, and investigating whether the Red Planet was once able to support microbial life.
Recently, Perseverance used its SHERLOC WATSON camera to capture an image of the Malgosa Crest abrasion patch at night in a location called the “Serpentine Rapids.”
The image revealed white, black, and greenish spots within the rock. The composition of the rocks is unclear, but scientists are still excited about the mysterious find because there is a good chance that Perseverance will make more unique discoveries.
“One of the biggest surprises for the rover team was the presence of drab-green-colored spots within the abrasion patch, which are composed of dark-toned cores with fuzzy, light green rims,” said NASA.
To obtain the images of the rock, Perseverance made an abrasion patch in a rock outcrop known as “Wallace Butte.” The abrasion patch was roughly two inches in diameter.
The large green spot in the upper left section of the image was about two millimeters in diameter.
The image was taken on August 19. By then, Perseverance had been on Mars for 1,243 Martian days.
On Earth, rocks that look similar to red Martian rocks usually get their color from oxidized iron. It is the same type of iron that might accumulate on our cars and make our blood red.
The green spots that are visible in the new image are also found in red rocks on Earth. They are formed when liquid water seeps through sediment before hardening into rock.
alones – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only – pictured above is Mars
The process contributes to a chemical reaction that turns oxidized iron into a reduced version of itself, giving the rock a green tint.
Sometimes, microbes are a part of this process on Earth. Decaying organic material can also provide the proper conditions for the reaction to occur.
A chemical interaction between sulfur and iron can enable iron-reduction reactions without the need for microorganisms.
The type of reaction that gave rise to the green spots that Perseverance detected on Mars will remain a mystery, though.
There was not enough room for the spacecraft to place its instruments directly over the green spots to pick up a sample, preventing it from getting a closer look.
Perhaps the puzzle will be solved once human astronauts reach the planet sometime in the 2030s.
Hopefully, Perseverance will stumble upon something similar in the future so researchers can gain a better understanding of how these features emerged in the Martian rock.
Next, Perseverance will make its way to the Jezero Crater rim. During this journey, it will have to travel across steep terrain and leave behind the crater it has been exploring for the past two years.
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