Intriguing discovery on Mars: a rock covered in 'spider eggs' baffles NASA

NASA's Perseverance rover, sent to explore Mars, discovered a rock in Jezero Crater with an unusual texture reminiscent of "spider eggs," sparking the interest of the scientific community. This discovery, made in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet, stands out for its peculiar appearance and has been dubbed "St. Paul's Bay" by the research team.

The rock, according to NASA reports, is covered in hundreds of dark gray, millimeter-sized spheres. These spheres come in various shapes, from elongated ellipticals to angular edges with broken fragments, and some are even pierced with tiny holes.

A previous discovery in the entrance channel of Jezero Crater, known as Neretva Vallis, also showed similar formations, described as popcorn-like textures. In that case, the spherules were interpreted as concretions formed by the interaction of groundwater with rock pores.

However, scientists caution that these formations could also originate from the rapid cooling of molten rock droplets during volcanic eruptions or from the condensation of vaporized rock following a meteorite impact.

Perseverance, one of the most sophisticated robots sent to another planet, has as its primary mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life and analyze the past habitability of Mars. To do so, it collects samples of Martian rock and regolith, which could be transported back to Earth on future missions for more detailed studies.

Jezero Crater, where the rover is operating, was chosen as the exploration site after an exhaustive analysis of more than 60 potential locations. This 45-kilometer-wide crater, located at the western edge of the Isidis Planitia plain, north of the Martian equator, is believed to have hosted an ancient river delta and was once flooded.

This isn't the first time spheres with strange characteristics have been detected on Mars. In 2004, the Opportunity rover observed similar formations, nicknamed "Martian blueberries," in Meridiani Planum.

Later, the Curiosity rover also identified spherules in the rocks of Yellowknife Bay, in Gale Crater. Opportunity, which arrived on Mars in 2004 as part of the Mars Exploration Rover mission, operated until 2019, when a global dust storm left it without power. Meanwhile, Curiosity, which landed in Gale Crater in 2012 as part of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, remains operational and continues to send relevant data.

NASA scientists are currently working to link the textures observed in St. Paul's Bay with the broader stratigraphy of Witch Hazel Hill, a nearby region with interesting geological layers. This effort is part of a more detailed analysis of Jezero Crater and its geological history, as the space agency continues to gather key information about Mars' past.

*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from La Nación.