NASA's Perseverance rover has seen a lot of strange things while exploring Mars, and this latest photo from the rover highlights the planet's unique, yellow surface. Mars is a fascinating planet for a few different reasons. It's close to Earth, is often the subject of science fiction stories, and is believed to have once been home to ancient life. While green, human-like aliens certainly aren't walking around the Red Planet, many scientists believe that microbial life could have once existed there.
In a neverending quest to prove this theory, NASA has its Perseverance rover on Mars with that exact mission — to find signs that Mars once had life. Perseverance spends its time exploring the planet, collecting rock samples, and taking thousands of pictures of the alien world. These photos are important for a couple of reasons. Not only do they help scientists find new targets to investigate, but they also make Mars exploration open to anyone who's interested. Want to see strange rock formations or large mountains on Mars? Perseverance uploads new images every day to show people these things and more.
One particular Perseverance photo has garnered a lot of attention lately. The above picture was uploaded on December 1 and taken with Perseverance's Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera A. Out of the hundreds of pictures Perseverance uploads every few days, this one was chosen as Perseverance's 'Image of the Week' for November 28 thru December 4. And it's easy to see why. The picture shows an up-close view of what appears to be the Martian surface. It highlights the ground's rocky texture, tiny pebbles, and an eerie yellow hue for the entire area. It's one of those photos that really reminds just how different Mars is from Earth. Some pictures from the planet look surprisingly familiar, whereas others like this are completely alien.
Anyone who's been following Perseverance this year knows this is one of many incredible views the rover's seen over the last few months. Just a few days ago, another Perseverance image showcased a gorgeous Martian landscape with visible marks in the ground from Perseverance's travels. The rover's also taken pictures of a gorgeous Mars sunrise, massive dunes, and rock formations that look hilariously similar to critters on Earth.
What makes all of this even more impressive is that photo-taking is just a small part of Perseverance's duties. Since it landed on Mars in February, Perseverance has collected multiple rock samples across Mars. These samples will eventually be returned to Earth for further studies, with scientists hoping they hold important answers about Mars' rich history. If there's any rover that finds evidence of Martian life, Perseverance may very well be the one that finally does it.
Source: NASA
