Overview
- The desk-sized rock, named Phippsaksla and roughly 80 centimeters across, was imaged on September 19 in the Vernodden area near the rim of Jezero Crater.
- Perseverance’s SuperCam detected unusually high iron and nickel, a signature commonly linked to iron–nickel meteorites formed in asteroid cores.
- NASA says additional analysis is underway to verify whether Phippsaksla is a meteorite and to place it in geological context.
- If confirmed, it would be the first iron–nickel meteorite documented by Perseverance in Jezero, a notable contrast to earlier rovers’ finds elsewhere on Mars.
- Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity have previously investigated iron–nickel meteorites such as “Lebanon” (2014) and “Cacao” (2023), consistent with Mars’ frequent meteoroid influx.