NASA’s Perseverance Rover took an intriguing photo of a “turtle,” which appears to stick its head out of its shell on the surface of Mars. The reptile-like structure is the latest in a long list of Martian rocks that resemble creatures and other Earth objects.
Patience took a new image on August 31st of what Red Planet’s 1,610th Sol or Mars Day was. Wandering, the car-sized robot took a shot somewhere in Jezero Crater. Rover landed in 2021 with 28 miles (45km) depression.
The photo was taken using a Rover’s scan habitable environment using a Wide Angle Terrain Sensor (Watson) instrument for Organic and Chemicals (Sherloc) Raman & Emission (Sherloc) and Manipulation and Engineering Wide Angle Terrain Sensor (Watson) instruments, according to Live Science’s sister site Space.com. Both instruments are attached to the Rober robotic arm turret.
The rock of interest earned a comparison with the turtle thanks to its head with two eyes that appear to protrude from the protective “shell” with a pair of “fore feet” on either side (see image below).
It is currently unknown which geological processes formed the rocks into this unusual shape.
Related: 32 things on Mars that don’t seem to be there
Mars rovers collectively capture tens of thousands of photographs of Mars’ surface, most of which are characterized by multiple different rocks or other geological features carved into unique shapes by ancient water sources or strong millennian winds. Sometimes, one of these rocks resembles what you can see on Earth, such as blueberries, human-like fingerprints, mystical doorways, and even the “Star Trek” symbols.
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These associations are often made for the Paleidoria. This is a psychological phenomenon in which the human mind recognizes familiar patterns such as faces and images through structures such as random objects and clouds.
Perseverance is particularly good at finding these strange rocks during a five-year mission. Other recent discoveries include the strange medieval “helmet” that moved around in the past in August, and the “skull” that snapped in April.
The Martian turtle is not the only “animal” discovered on the red planet. In recent years, spacecraft attacking Mars has discovered larger geological features, including animal-shaped clumps, including dog-shaped blobs beneath the planet’s north pole, grinning cartoon-like teddy bears, and seasonal “spider” packs.
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