NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered a “mineral flower” on Mars. The robot did this one special find while investigating the Gale Crater. It is shaped like a flower, but it is a mineral formation. The two spheres that can be seen next to ‘the flower’ are also minerals.
The flower is the size of a small coin. The pieces of rock formed billions of years ago, according to NASA, when minerals from water attached themselves to the rock. The robot cart took the photo of the mineral flower last week using a camera on its robotic arm.
Previous discoveries
The rover has made these kinds of discoveries before in the Gale Crater, which is 154 kilometers wide. For example, the Curiosity found pieces of minerals in 2015 and 2019, some of which also resemble flowers. The crater may have once been a lake, which gave rise to these minerals.
Previously, the Opportunity rover, which launched in 2003 and is the predecessor to the Curiosity, found tiny bluish mineral spheres in another crater on the planet, making them look like blueberries.
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