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[NASA] A Stranger in Our Midst?

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NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this close-up view showing the cavernous weathering texture of an unusually shaped rock, “Phippsaksla,” targeted for investigation based on its appearance that differed from the low-lying surrounding rocks. Study showed that it is high in iron and nickel content, suggesting that it might be a meteorite. Perseverance captured the image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera, one of a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast, on Sept. 19, 2025 — Sol 1629, or Martian day 1,629 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 12:11:25.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/****

Perseverance Encounters a Possible Meteorite

Written by Candice Bedford, Research Scientist at Purdue University

Oct. 1, 2025

During the rover’s recent investigation of the bedrock at “Vernodden,” Perseverance encountered an unusually shaped rock about 80 centimeters across (about 31 inches) called “Phippsaksla.” This rock was identified as a target of interest based on its sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks. Last week, Perseverance targeted Phippsaksla with the SuperCam instrument revealing that it is high in iron and nickel. This element combination is usually associated with iron-nickel meteorites formed in the core of large asteroids, suggesting that this rock formed elsewhere in the solar system. 

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NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the unusually shaped rock, “Phippsaksla,” in the distance at upper left, which is suspected to be a meteorite because of its high iron and nickel content. Perseverance captured the image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera, one of a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast, on Sept. 2, 2025 — Sol 1612, or Martian day 1,612 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 12:45:41.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/****

This is not the first time a rover has encountered an exotic rock on Mars. The Curiosity rover has identified many iron-nickel meteorites across its traverse in Gale crater including the 1-meter wide (about 39 inches)

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meteorite
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and the “Cacao” meteorite
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. Both Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, also
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during their missions. As such, it has been somewhat unexpected that Perseverance had not seen iron-nickel meteorites within Jezero crater, particularly given its similar age to Gale crater and number of smaller impact craters suggesting that meteorites did fall on the crater floor, delta, and crater rim throughout time. Now, on the outside of the crater, atop bedrock known to have formed from impact processes in the past, Perseverance has potentially found one. Due to the exotic composition of this rock, more investigation by the team needs to be done to confirm its status as a meteorite. But if this rock is deemed to be a meteorite Perseverance can at long last add itself to the list of Mars rovers who have investigated the fragments of rocky visitors to Mars. 

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