Perseverance has been carrying a little stowaway for a few days.
A large pebble has indeed lodged in the wheel of the rover which has been crisscrossing the planet Mars since February 18, 2021, reports this Tuesday
Universe Today
relayed by
Numerama
.
The discovery of the small rock was made thanks to a photo taken on February 25 by one of the robot's six obstacle detection cameras.
The pebble does not seem to disturb Perseverance's motor skills or interfere with the activity of the wheel that hosts it.
That said, the rover did not have to move between February 25 and March 7.
So there are still uncertainties.
NASA's #Mars_Exploration Program
There's a big rock stuck inside one of Perseverance's wheels
"It looks like the Perseverance rover has an unwanted passenger, a rock stuck inside one of its wheels." https://t.co/MqGKwdnxqB
via @physorg_com pic. twitter.com/udr9UxpT16
— Mars Exploration Terraforming & Colonization News (@MarsExplorat) March 9, 2022
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Perseverance took its 7th direct debit
Anyway, NASA did not communicate on this subject.
So far, the images reveal no apparent physical damage to the rover.
Experts assume that this pebble lodged in the wheel of the robot while the latter was moving on sloping ground.
Perseverance's mission is to collect samples from the Martian soil.
This Tuesday, NASA confirmed that the rover had successfully taken its seventh sample.
The rover should take another sample from the same rock before continuing on its way.
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