NASA’s Perseverance rover, a car-sized robot searching for possible signs of ancient life on Mars, often makes surprising discoveries. On August 31, the 1,610th day of its mission, the rover spotted an unusual rock that resembled the head of a turtle emerging from its shell.
Perseverance launched in 2020 and successfully landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021. Since then, it has traveled more than 37 kilometers across the Martian surface.
The image was taken by the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument, which is mounted on the rover’s robotic arm.
