This year has been a good year for NASA's Martian surface robot, which has taken some stunning photos of the Red Planet over the past 12 months.
Since August 2012, the Curiosity rover has been making its way across the Martian surface, gaining new information about the environment. Where are the streams of water? Was there life here? And what happened in Gale Crater and Mount Aeolis? Now that the rover is in the lower mountain, it has captured some spectacular shots of dunes, rocks, and even a meteorite. Here are the most remarkable shots.
Dunes
Grab your 3D glasses and enjoy this 13ft Martian dune! The Namib Dune has become part of the study of active sand dunes (they migrate rapidly every year). The Namib is part of the Bagnold Dunes region, which move one meter a year.
"Like on Earth, downwind, sand dunes have a steep slope called a sliding edge," NASA said in a statement. “Sand grains blow from the windward side, creating mounds, which then, like an avalanche, fall down. Then the process is repeated."
sandy selfie
This is another view of the Bagnold Dune region taken by the rover from the front. It's not just a cool shot. It allows NASA engineers to monitor the state of the device. For example, the first cause for concern was how quickly the wheels of the rover wore out. NASA started driving on nasty ground, which slowed down the wear rate.
bumps
The Martian rock is an interesting thing to study, as it tells a lot of useful information about the geological history of the planet. Here you can see some sandstone outcroppings inside the Murray Geological Block. For some reason, these formations seem to have stopped the erosion.
"The site is located in the lower area of Mount Sharp, where mudstones from the Murray Block (visible in the lower right corner) are exposed adjacent to the overlying Stimson Block," NASA said in a statement. “The exact line of contact between the two blocks is covered with windblown sand. Most of the other parts of the Stimson Block did not show the presence of erosion-resistant nodules."
rocks
This magnificent panorama (including the shadow of the apparatus on the right) shows the Naukluft Plateau at the bottom of Mount Sharp. Curiosity took a series of images on April 4, so that geologists were able to understand the entire region (rock history).
“Since landing, the rover has passed through terrain with aquatic sedimentary rocks (mudstones and siltstones, as well as accumulations in the early stages), some of which contained minerals such as clay, indicating the ancient presence of water,” says NASA. “But on the new plateau, the rover found itself in a completely different geology. The sandstone here represents thick layers of windblown sand, suggesting that these deposits formed in a drier era.”
Ripples and dust
Even the ripples on Mars are different. The largest ripples in the image are 10 feet apart. You won't see this on Earth. Although the small ones still resemble ours. This image was taken in December 2015 at the Bagnold dune field. The images were immediately sent to Earth for publication, but sometimes it takes months to upload to get a better look.
“The footage was taken in the early morning with a camera facing the Sun,” NASA writes. “This mosaic image has been processed to make the ripples more visible. The sand is very dark because of the morning shadows and the inner darkness of the minerals that dominate its composition.”
Autonomous Piu Piu
Bye laz 
Black robot gunfire looks a little intimidating on Earth, it has been used peacefully on Mars. The rover selects targets for laser analysis using a software program. So, if the device is in the right place, it can get to work while scientists try to orient themselves. On the left frame you see the goal before the procedure, and on the right - the result.
“The ChemCam laser spectrometer erases a grid of nine points on a stone selected according to specified criteria. In this case, it was necessary to find a bright exposed stone, and not dark rocks. Within 30 minutes after the Navcam received the image, the laser completed the task on the target area.
rocky beauty
What at first glance looks like a random assortment of Murray Buttes hill rocks actually says a lot about the long history of ancient Mars. While the planet is dominated by wind erosion, the image shows important processes for the past. The craft also found evidence of water erosion in the upper regions of Mount Sharp.
“These are the remains of ancient sandstone created by wind-set sand after the formation of Lower Sharp Mountain. The cross bedding indicates that the sandstone was blown by a migrating dune."
Vision of the future
The picture was taken in late 2016, showing the view from the rover, including where it is heading next. The orange rock is the lower part of Mount Sharp. Above it is a layer of hematite, even higher is clay (hard to see here). The rounded hills are a block of sulfate where Curiosity plans to head. Farther away are the high slopes of the mountain. The rover will be able to see them, but will not drive close.
“The variety of colors hints at the difference in the composition of the mountain. Violet has already been noticed in other rocks in which hematite has been found. This season the winds don't blow much sand and the rocks are relatively free of dust (which can obscure the color)."
alien visits
You can't even imagine how cool it is! A man-made rover surfs an alien planet and stumbles upon an alien object. You see a nickel-iron meteorite about the size of a golf ball. It was called "stone egg". “This is a general class of space rocks that have been found more than once on Earth. But on Mars, we found this for the first time. It was examined using a laser spectrometer."
Path through history
New color photo of the surface of the planet Mars in high resolution 2019 with descriptions obtained from NASA's Earth-Space Telescope and NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover.
If you have never seen frosty deserts, then you need to visit the Red Planet. It didn't get its name by chance. pictures of mars from the rover confirm this fact. Space- an amazing place where you can find completely unusual phenomena. So, the reddish color is created by iron oxide, that is, the surface is covered with rust. There are also amazing dust storms that show high-quality photo of Mars from space in high definition. Well, let's not forget that so far this is the first goal in the search for extraterrestrial life. On our site you can see new real photos of the surface of Mars from rovers, satellites and telescopes from space.
High resolution photos of Mars
First picture of Mars
July 20, 1976 was a turning point when the Viking 1 spacecraft managed to get the first photo of the surface of Mars. His main tasks were to create high-resolution frames to analyze the structure and atmospheric composition and look for signs of life.
Arsino Chaos on Mars
On January 4, 2015, the HiRISE camera on the MRO managed to capture a photo of the Red Planet's surface from space. Before you is the territory of Arsino-Chaos, located in the far eastern region of the canyon of the Mariner Valley. The damaged relief may be based on the influence of massive water channels flowing in a northerly direction. The curved landscape is represented by yards. These are areas of rock that have been sandblasted. Between them are transverse sandy ridges - Aeolian. This is a real mystery hidden between dunes and ripples. The point is at 7 degrees S. sh. and 332 degrees E. sh. HiRISE is one of 6 instruments on MRO.
Attack on Mars
Martian Dragonscale
This interesting surface texture is created from the contact of rock with water. Reviewed by MRO. Then the stone collapsed and again came into contact with the surface. Martian rock, which has become clay, is marked in pink. There is still little information about the water itself and its interaction with the stone. And this is not surprising, because scientists have not yet focused on solving such issues. But understanding this will help to understand the past climate situation. The latest analysis suggested that the early environment may not have been as warm and humid as we would have liked. But this is not a problem for the development of Martian life. Therefore, researchers focus on terrestrial life forms that originate in dry and frosty areas. The scale of the map of Mars is 25 cm per pixel.
martian dunes
martian ghosts
martian rocks
martian tattoos
Martian Niagara Falls
Escape from Mars
Surface Martian shapes
A photo of the surface of Mars was taken with the HiRISE camera of the MRO spacecraft, performing a flyby in Martian orbit. Similar gully reliefs appear on many craters in the middle planetary latitudes. For the first time, changes began to be noticed in 2006. Now they find many deposits in ravines. This photo shows new sediment in Gus crater, living in the southern mid-latitudes. The position is brighter in enhanced color shots. The image was mined in the spring, but the stream formed in the winter. It is believed that the activity of ravines awakens in winter and early spring.
Arrival and movement of Martian ice
Blue on the Red Planet
Follow the (bright) stream
Snowy martian dunes
Mars tattoos
Textures in Deuteronilus
An impact crater about three kilometers across
The surface of Mars is a dry and barren wasteland covered with old volcanoes and craters.
Dunes through the eyes of Mars Odyssey
Photographs show that she may be hidden by a single sandstorm that keeps her out of sight for several days. Despite the formidable conditions, Mars is better studied by scientists than any other world in the solar system, except our own, of course.
Since the planet has almost the same slope as the Earth, and it has an atmosphere, it means that there are seasons. The temperature on the surface is about -40 degrees Celsius, but at the equator it can reach +20. There are traces of water on the surface of the planet, and features of the relief formed by water.
Scenery
Let's take a closer look at the surface of Mars, information provided by numerous orbiters, as well as rovers, allows us to fully understand what the red planet is like. Ultra-clear images show dry, rocky terrain covered in fine red dust.
Red dust is actually iron oxide. Everything, from the ground to small stones and rocks, is covered with this dust.
Since there is neither water nor confirmed tectonic activity on Mars, its geological features remain virtually unchanged. Compared to the surface of the Earth, which is undergoing constant changes associated with water erosion and tectonic activity.
Mars surface video
The landscape of Mars is made up of a variety of geological structures. It is home to those known throughout the solar system. That's not all. The most famous canyon in the solar system is the Mariner Valley, also located on the surface of the Red Planet.
Look at the pictures from the rovers, which show a lot of details that are not visible from orbit.
If you have a desire to look at Mars online, then
Surface photo
The images below are images from Curiosity, a rover that is currently actively exploring the red planet.
To view in full screen mode, click on the button on the top right.
Panorama transmitted by the Curiosity rover
This panorama is a section of Gale Crater, where Curiosity conducts its research. The high hill in the center is Mount Sharp, to the right of it you can see the annular rim of the crater in the haze.
To view in full size, save the image to your computer!
These photographs of the surface of Mars are from 2014 and are, in fact, the most recent.
Among all the features of the landscape of Mars, perhaps the most widely publicized are the mesas of Cydonia. Early photographs of the Sedonia region showed the hill as a "human face". However, later, higher resolution shots showed us an ordinary hill.
Planet dimensions
Mars is a pretty small world. Its radius is half that of the Earth, it has a mass that is less than one-tenth of ours.
Dunes, MRO image
More about Mars: The surface of the planet consists mainly of basalt, covered with a thin layer of dust, iron oxide, which has the consistency of talc. Iron oxide (rust, as it is commonly called) gives the planet its characteristic red hue.
Volcanoes
In ancient times, volcanoes erupted continuously on the planet for millions of years. Due to the fact that Mars does not have plate tectonics, huge volcanic mountains formed. Mount Olympus was formed in a similar way and is the largest mountain in the solar system. It is three times higher than Everest. Such volcanic activity may also partly explain the deepest valley in the solar system. The Mariner Valley is believed to have formed as a result of the breakup of material between two points on the Martian surface.
craters
Animation showing changes around a crater in the Northern Hemisphere
There are many impact craters on Mars. Most of these craters remain intact because there are no forces on the planet capable of destroying them. The planet lacks the wind, rain and plate tectonics that cause erosion on Earth. The atmosphere is much thinner than that of Earth, so that even small meteorites can reach the earth.
The current surface of Mars is very different from what it was billions of years ago. Orbiter data has shown that there are many minerals and erosion marks on the planet that indicate the presence of liquid water in the past. It is possible that small oceans and long rivers once completed the landscape. The last remnants of this water were trapped underground in the form of ice.
Total number of craters
There are hundreds of thousands of craters on Mars, of which 43,000 are larger than 5 kilometers in diameter. Hundreds of them were named after scientists or famous astronomers. Craters less than 60 km across have been named after cities on Earth.
The most famous is Hellas Basin. It is 2100 km across and up to 9 km deep. It is surrounded by emissions that stretch for 4000 km from the center.
Crater formation
Most of the craters on Mars probably appeared during the late period of the "heavy bombardment" of our solar system, which occurred approximately 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago. During this period, a large number of craters formed on all celestial bodies in the solar system. Evidence of this event comes from studies of lunar samples, which showed that most of the rocks were created during this time interval. Scholars cannot agree on the reasons for this bombardment. According to the theory, the orbit of the gas giant changed and as a result, the orbits of objects in the main asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt became more eccentric, reaching the orbits of the terrestrial planets.
Photos from the Mars reconnaissance satellite (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, abbreviated as MRO or MRS) demonstrate the features of Mars. For example, the first image above looks like a strange alien amoeba.
Below are other pictures of the planet, but let's look at them as a kind of Rorschach test. Perhaps some of the photos will look like bacteria or amoebas under a microscope, or bizarre sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean.
This is also one of the ways to highlight the importance of the CTX contextual camera when exploring the Red Planet. The HiRISE camera takes breathtaking high-resolution images of the planet's surface, but its photos (as at the beginning of the article) are sometimes difficult to interpret. In this case, scientists use images from CTX, they have a lower resolution, but a large area with the surrounding landscape and geological formations falls into the frame. As a result, the image of the bacterium turns into a crater with a peak in the center.
In fact, a close-up view shows a formation in the landscape of Mars, resembling a depression with drain channels in the depressions surrounding it.
The MPC context camera helps to put the scene in perspective.
NASA says the strange-looking corrugated areas are similar to areas that have previously been tested. Despite the fact that strange formations are carefully watched, there is still an element of mystery here. Similar depressions with concentric depressions exist elsewhere on Mars, and their origin is widely debated.
People love fascinating space stories. That's why it's so interesting to speculate about the unusual objects seen in images of Mars. Our imagination turns rocks into faces and cosmic rays into alien messages.
Join us as we explore some of Mars' most famous mysteries and their scientific explanations.
Classic: Face of Mars
This iconic image of the surface of Mars was taken by NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft, which landed on the planet in 1976. Everyone was excited about the formation in the shape of a face at the top in the middle of the picture. If you have a creative mind, then you can easily make out two eyes, a nose, a mouth and a strange hairstyle. As a result, some people thought that the captured face was a monument on Mars. Some even recognized him as a young Elvis Presley.
A new look at the Face of Mars
The space agency wanted to find a scientific explanation for the appearance of the "monument" in the photo. In 2001, the Mars Global Surveyor research station clarified the situation, which received a fresh picture of the face. The new photo had a higher resolution, and in it the area under study turned out to be more shapeless and with less sharp features. In short, it's just a pile of rocks, not some sort of alien.
In 2014, the Curiosity rover took a photo that shows a very strange rock that looks a bit like a human femur. According to scientists, the non-standard shape was formed under the influence of wind or water erosion. If human remains were found on Mars, then the whole world would already know about it.
strange pattern
In March 2018, NASA released this MRS image under the dramatic title "The Martian Boulder Pile Case." Do not explore the open space, but look at the dark sand dunes. And you will see a wonderfully ordered series of boulder piles.
NASA scientists believe that the neat piles may have formed due to "frost heaving," which consists of freeze and thaw cycles that gave the rocks neat shapes. A similar process is observed on Earth.
Donald Trump, is that you?
News headlines in 2016 were full of statements about the appearance of the incumbent US President Donald Trump in a photo of Mars. In 2009, Opportunity photographed a rock that, according to the media, looks like the head of a businessman with his prominent hair.
The psychological phenomenon of pareidolia helped journalists to discern a famous person in the rock, thanks to which in everyday life we notice familiar figures and outlines of animals in the clouds.
Morse code?
In the picture captured by the MRS in February 2016, incomprehensible formations are visible. The dark raised areas are dunes, reminiscent of the dots and dashes in Morse code.
Unfortunately, the code means some kind of abracadabra. Planetary scientist Veronica Bray analyzed the image of the dunes and told Gizmodo that the code reads "NEE NED ZB 6TNN DEIBEDH SIEFI EBEEE SSIEI ESEE SEEE!!"
Tadpole on Mars
Admittedly, this formation, seen by MRS, is very similar to a tadpole, yo-yo, or even a sperm cell. In fact, this is a round crater, and the tail was formed under the influence of the flow of water.
In February 2018, the space agency stated:
Based on the necessary information about the height of the terrain, we can conclude that the water is flowing outward.
Although the planet was filled with water in the past, not a single amphibious life form has been found on it at present.
Did you order fish?
On Mars, they found a rock in the shape of a fish, while real fish are not found here. The unusual formation was filmed by the camera of the Curiosity rover, and fans of UFOs and aliens were completely delighted with it. During the shooting, the illusion of the presence of fish was created by the shape of the rock and its lighting.
NASA considers the possibility of the presence of fossilized bones and animals on Mars unlikely. The agency explains its position by the fact that there has never been enough oxygen in the atmosphere and other places on the planet to support the vital activity of complex organisms.
The devil is in the details
A jet trail appears in this scenic landscape of Mars, captured in 2016 by Opportunity. In fact, this is a dusty whirlwind, the same are found on Earth. Rising dust whirlwinds are one of the main dangerous weather conditions on Mars that future human visitors to the planet need to prepare for.
Avalanche
In this 2010 MRS image, a cloud of particles climbs up a sheer cliff. Some may take this as a sign of a factory on Mars, but most likely it is the result of an avalanche, consisting mainly of frozen carbon dioxide. According to NASA, in most cases, such an event occurs when it is spring on the planet, which on Earth corresponds to April - early May.
Did you order a donut?
The donut-shaped object (yes, many people actually see it in this picture) suddenly appeared in the before and after photos taken by Opportunity. Some have speculated that it is an alien fungus.
The space agency has solved the mystery of the donut, explaining its unexpected appearance by the fact that it was moved by the rover during their research. For a complete set, snacks have yet to be found on the Red Planet.
Waffle Island on Mars
Donuts have not grown together on Mars, but NASA has yet to deal with other edible finds on the planet. At the end of 2014, MRS captured an amazing waffle-shaped island on the surface of the planet. With a width of about 1.2 miles, it is in a region of lava flow. So you will not find waffle irons on Mars, since, most likely, the observed shape of the island is the result of the movement of lava, pushing the formation from the bottom up.
dragon scale
Even NASA is in awe of Game of Thrones, otherwise how can one explain why the space agency described this photo from the MPC as “Dragon Scales of Mars” (Dragon Scales of Mars).
The scaly pattern is not made by a mythical creature, but is the result of long-standing landscape processes associated with erosion. When NASA released this image in July 2017, it stated that the nature of the interaction of water with stone and its transformation into clay is not yet fully understood.
shiny object
In 2012, the Curiosity rover captured a bright, shiny object in the dim landscape of Mars. All photos cover an area of 1.6 inches. NASA scientists have confirmed that a tiny bright piece is part of the geology of Mars.
floating spoon
Take a look at the center of the image taken by the Curiosity rover. Here you can see a spoon with a long handle, casting a shadow down. Do you think people like to cook on Mars? And here it is not. Mars has less gravitational pull than Earth, so fragile things like this one can rise and not fall to the surface.
Piece of metal on Mars
On Flickr, fans watching the surface of Mars enhanced an image captured by Curiosity in early 2013 to highlight what looked like a piece of metal. The explanation is not as amusing as the supposed alien blacksmith races. The object is either part of a meteorite, or just came under strange lighting.
table mountain
In 2017, MPC looked down and captured this bizarre sight in a region known as Noctis Labyrinthus or the Labyrinth of Night. The undulating features around the mesa are sand dunes.
Highly eroded, with boulder clusters and sand dunes on its surface, this layered mesa appears to be composed of sedimentary deposits that are exhumed as they break down.
Bright light at the end of the tunnel
In 2014, the Curiosity rover took an interesting shot showing a flash of light on the Martian horizon. UFO fans stepped up and began to speculate about the source of the light as proof of the existence of aliens.
NASA scientist Doug Ellison shattered their illusions by explaining the appearance of a flash of light by the passage of cosmic rays, that is, high-energy particles flying in space.
Part of the rover
The next incident occurred in 2012, when the Curiosity rover spotted a shiny object on the surface that didn't match its surroundings. However, the explanation turned out to be quite simple: NASA stated that the object was a small plastic piece that had fallen from the rover itself.
Mars rover sees "sticks"
It is difficult to judge the size of objects in close-up photographs of Mars. This image from Curiosity shows stick-like shapes, but they are only 6 millimeters long. Scientists suggest that they may be crystals or minerals.
miniature meteorite
In mid-autumn 2016, while exploring the base of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, Curiosity discovered a small iron meteorite. The object would easily fit in the palm of the hand, so at first the scientists mistook it for a stone. However, in the close-up images, the researchers saw a complex surface structure, which indicated that it was a meteorite. As a result, this find was called the "Stone Egg" (Egg Rock).
shiny item
The explanation for the appearance of the shiny object seen by the Curiosity rover is rather disappointing. Using the ChemCam instrument on the rover, NASA scientists determined that it was just a scrap of plastic from the rover itself. The agency believes that it will not have a negative impact on the environment. And we can create fictional stories about how this piece of plastic will attract the attention of an alien race lurking on the Red Planet.
Strange deep hole
NASA doesn't offer a definitive answer for the strange circular pit seen by MRS in 2017, but the circular formation is likely the result of surface collapse or an impact crater.
The pit is located near the south pole of the planet. In summer, when the sun is low, the circle really stands out against the background of the surrounding landscape.
Statue of a woman on Mars
In 2007, the Spirit rover's camera captured small rocks on the surface of the Red Planet. One formation stood out for what appeared to be a small walking humanoid (or bigfoot).
The well-known UFO blog UFO Sightings Daily began to speculate that this statue of a woman was created by the inhabitants of the planet. The Planetary Society was quick to label the object an optical illusion and another manifestation of pareidolia, the ability of our brains to assign familiar images to random shapes or sounds.
Another woman on Mars
On Mars, a rock in the shape of a woman has been seen more than once. The following picture from the Curiosity rover excited alien theorists in 2015. A small dark object circled in red resembles a figurine of a girl in a dress. It only takes a strong imagination to discover it.
NASA media relations specialist Guy Webster, commenting on this situation, said that, as in this case, it is very easy to find rocks or other things similar to Earth objects in photographs of Mars.
The crab monster crawls on Mars
In July 2015, Curiosity took a photo that could blend in with hundreds of other photos of Mars. However, she became famous thanks to a Facebook group that took a close-up of one tiny fragment of the photo and assured everyone that something that looked like a crab monster was hiding in the shadows. It could very well pass for Cthulhu.
Ultimately, the crab creature seen is just a funny interaction of light and shadow, which will remain a stone formation.
Bigfoot skull
It's interesting to imagine what aliens on Mars would look like if they were real. You can imagine images of big heads with big black eyes or something with crazy tentacles and sharp teeth. While searching for alien life on the Red Planet, UFO fans spotted a strange figure that they believe is the skull of Bigfoot.
This photo was taken by Curiosity in early 2016. A random rock was attributed to the similarity with a skull with a round top and large indentations for the eyes. Is this really a Bigfoot skull? Of course not. It's just a rock that might inspire some funny sci-fi stories about the great Bigfoot on Mars.
Head of an ancient god
The left half of the image was taken by the Opportunity rover, while the right half shows a Neo-Assyrian goddess whose statue is in the British Museum. Did you see a slight resemblance? It was first noticed by UFO fans who drew attention to this rock on Mars.
As with other terrestrial-looking rock formations on the planet, this is the result of a combination of our imagination and random light, and not a sign of an alien civilization prone to carving sculptures.
Remains of the lander
The European Space Agency's ExoMars mission suffered a setback when its lander, Schiaparelli, crashed while landing on Mars in October 2016. The MPC took this photo to help European Space Agency investigators figure out what happened to the ill-fated lander. A large dark spot corresponds to the crash site. Other highlighted areas show front heat shield, parachute and rear heat shield.
Mars rover landing equipment
These prominent circles are located in the Eagle crater (Eagl) on Mars. Look carefully at the top right corner. Did you notice the little dot inside? This is the landing site that helped land the Opportunity rover on the planet's surface in 2004. The small dot in the lower left corner of the image is the outer shell and the parachute.
NASA shared this fresh photo of the landing gear in the crater in April 2017.
South Pole of Mars
This photo of the landscape resembles worm tracks or a strange anthill. In fact, it was the MRS in 2016 that photographed the south pole of Mars. The surface of the pole is made up of carbon dioxide (dry ice). On Earth, there are no such formations created naturally.
Round pits are holes in a layer of dry ice that expand by several meters every Martian year, NASA explains.
The face of a kissing alien
Get ready for the kiss! This rock of Mars wants to kiss you. The unusual formation looks like a human face with eyes, nose, forehead, chin and lips ready for a kiss.
Alien fans spotted this rock while looking at images created by Curiosity in 2016. It's a hilarious formation, but it's not a sign of alien life on the Red Planet.
Photo of aliens
With free time, and with a little effort, everyone is able to find rocks on Mars that look like the faces of people or aliens. The next two “faces” were captured by Curiosity in 2016. Again, this is due to the effect of pareidolia.
Blueberry
She is not edible. These hematite-rich balls are known by the cute nickname "blueberries". In 2004, near the Fram crater, the Opportunity rover noticed small boulders a few millimeters in size.
Scratches on Mars
What does it look like? Claw marks? This is a snapshot of a series of wavy lines captured by the MPC in 2017. The space agency says the linear gullies likely formed as a result of dry ice sliding down the sides of sand dunes.
Collection of spheres
In 2004, Opportunity captured a beautiful image of a hematite-rich blueberry. In 2012, he photographed a similar unusual formation, but this time on the outcrop of Kirkwood.
The balls in Kirkwood do not have the iron-rich blueberry composition and also differ in concentration, distribution and structure, says NASA.
These balls puzzled the space agency. On some tiny spheres, you can see the effect of erosion.
Bomb
In December 2017, a popular UFO fan blog posted a close-up of a spherical object seen by the Curiosity rover and suggested that it was a cannonball left over from the war on the Red Planet. The NASA rover team responded on Twitter that the clot is less than 5 mm in size and is actually composed of calcium, sodium and magnesium sulfate.
Mars was named after the god of war, but these strange things are not cannonballs. This is a pebble. With a radius of 5 mm, they are composed of calcium, sodium and magnesium sulfate, which distinguishes them from the hematite-rich blueberries.
