When the Perseverance rover discovered an odd, ‘spaghetti-like’ object on Mars, scientists were baffled. Numerous specialists offered their own theories on the ‘alien’ substance discovered on July 12 after it created a lot of discussion online. But in a formal statement regarding the object, NASA said that it was actually a component of the rover itself.
The Dacron netting separated from the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) gear as the rover touched down on the planet in February 2021, according to the official briefing provided by the US space agency.
According to the NASA blog, ‘This specific piece of netting looks to have undergone extensive unraveling/shredding, indicating that it was subjected to tremendous forces.’
Also included in the article was the fact that Dacron is ‘a synthetic fibre embedded with resin frequently used in high performance sail material, but in the case of Perseverance was likely a part of a thermal protection blanket.’
A piece of the rover’s junk has previously been discovered on Mars. Parts of the EDL have already been discovered near the Perseverance landing site, and the Ingenuity chopper captured images of a protective shell and its parachute close to a group of boulders on the Martian surface.
Perseverance’s primary responsibility is to gather rock and soil samples from Mars, which will be examined by scientists after the rover’s return in 2030. The scientists will be looking for proof of life or early habitation on the planet and that is why they are trying to keep the data as ‘clean’ as possible.
‘The sampling teams will also continue to monitor potential sources of contamination to ensure the integrity of the returned sample cache,’ the blog said according to The Independent.
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