🪨 A stack of stones discovered on Mars by the Perseverance rover

NASA's Perseverance rover has captured a surprising image on the Martian surface: a pile of rocks that eerily resembles a terrestrial cairn. This discovery was made on May 13 (mission sol 1859).

The image was taken by the Mastcam-Z, a dual camera system located atop the rover's mast. It shows three stacked rocks, giving the impression of a sandwich resting on the dusty ochre ground. How could such an arrangement have formed on a planet with no apparent life?


Several hypotheses are being considered to explain this formation. The most likely is that it is actually a single rock block that fragmented under the effects of wind erosion or even liquid water that once flowed on Mars. Winds, the primary geological agents on the Red Planet, could have sculpted this shape over hundreds of millions of years.

This is not the first time Perseverance has discovered strange rocks. Embedded spheres, regularly spaced patterns, and even a zebra-striped rock have already sparked curiosity. In 1976, the Viking mission photographed a rock formation resembling a human face, fueling the most unscientific theories.

Beyond the anecdote, these observations help scientists decipher Mars's geological history. Understanding how rocks degrade and move allows them to trace past climates and identify potential sites that once harbored water. Every pebble tells a part of the Martian story.

The absence of human presence ensures this stack is not the work of a hiker. But its in-depth study could reveal natural processes still poorly understood. Research continues.