NASA
Image captured by the Perseverance rover on Mars
NASA has detected a rock formation on Mars that resembles those found on many hiking trails. This was photographed by the Perseverance rover.
The image, captured by Mastcam-Z shows a structure that, at first glance, resembles the cairns that can be seen on hiking trails, although its explanation on the red planet points to geological processes older.
According to , the rocks appear to be placed on top of each other, as if they formed a small natural column. However, no human has set foot on Mars, so hypothesis of an intervention is discarded.
Although the image may suggest three stacked stonesthe most likely explanation is that it is a single fractured rock which was separated into several levels by the action of the wind or by processes associated with the water that flowed in Mars’ remote past.
The available information indicates that wear shaped the material until it gave it the appearance of “sandwich“, without the need to resort to artificial causes.
Previous observations reinforce the idea that wind is one of the main forces transforming the Martian surface.
Over hundreds of millions or even billions of years, particles entrained by the atmosphere can wear, cut and weaken the rocks. This process helps explain why some structures on Mars have shapes that appear to be carved.
In the past, formations with a spherical appearance, stones distributed in a regular way, rocks with stripes and even images that gave rise to mistaken interpretations were observed, as happened with a photograph of Viking mission in 1976, when some people believed they saw a human face on the ground.
The scientific interest of these rocks lies not only in their appearance, but in the possibility of reconstructing the history of the planet based on small details of the landscape. Every fracture, every eroded edge, and accumulation of material can provide information about the Past climate, the presence of water and Martian geological activity.
