UAE Space Agency release observations of Mars’ moon, Deimos
A NASA rover on the surface of Mars has spotted a ‘donut-shaped rock’ that has got cheeky space fans thinking there must be life on The Red Planet.
Planetary scientists believe the rock spied by Perseverance could be the remnants of a large meteorite that smashed into Mars eons ago, reports The Daily Express US.
The rover is currently searching for signs of “ancient microbial life” so we can understand if our near-neighbour was once habitable, and will be giving the “donut” a closer look.
It is equipped with a special drill to obtain rock and soil samples from the surface which will be stored in sealed tubes and retrieved by a later mission to the planet. The tubes will then be sent back to Earth for forensic testing in NASA labs.
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Posting on Twitter, the SETI Institute said: “NASA Persevere took a picture using the SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager on 23 June 2023 of a donut-shaped rock off in the distance, which could be a large meteorite alongside smaller pieces.”
But online space fans were quick to share their own theories about the origins and purpose of the mystery donut rock.
Responding to the tweet, one commenter said the donut rock looked like an “alien toilet”, while another added: “This points to flowing water.”
A third Twitter user simply said: “Just say it!!! There is life on Mars.”
Speaking to CNN, assistant research scientist Jim Rice at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration said he couldn’t say with “100% certainty it’s not a meteorite”, but added that the hypothesis was “highly unlikely”.
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