Produced by: Manoj Kumar
NASA’s Perseverance crushed Martian rocks to reveal untouched minerals—offering new clues on Mars’ ancient water, according to SHERLOC scans published in Science Advances.
Credit : NASA
Instead of drilling, NASA used Perseverance’s contact sensor—meant to check surfaces—to flatten rock dust, creating a window into Mars’ hidden mineral layers, engineers confirmed in a mission update.
Credit : NASA
Perseverance uncovered serpentine, a mineral formed when water reacts with volcanic rock—hinting Mars may have hosted subsurface water, Dr. Luther Beegle of NASA’s SHERLOC team explains.
Credit : NASA
Since serpentine on Earth makes hydrogen that powers microbes, scientists like astrobiologist Dr. Abigail Allwood believe these findings hint Mars could have once harbored life.
Credit : NASA
By pressing rock fragments, Perseverance exposed fresh surfaces untouched for eons—unlocking a new way to study Martian geology, NASA engineers revealed in their February mission briefing.
Credit : NASA
Perseverance’s engineers used a drilling sensor in a way never planned—proof, says JPL lead systems engineer Adam Steltzner, that creative risks are reshaping Mars exploration.
Credit : NASA
NASA’s compacted rock fragments gave SHERLOC clear readings of minerals shaped by ancient Martian water, sparking new debate about how long water may have lasted on Mars.
Credit : NASA
With traditional tools failing to give clear data, Perseverance improvised, using unexpected methods to analyze Mars’ dusty secrets—an innovation that stunned the JPL science team.
Credit : NASA
Encouraged by results, NASA now plans to use this “rock smooshing” on older terrains like Witch Hazel Hill, hoping to crack deeper Martian history, per a NASA press release.
Credit : NASA