Overview
- Perseverance identified the roughly 80-centimeter object, named Phippsaksla, in the Vernodden region of Jezero Crater.
- Mastcam-Z images released by the mission show a distinctly sculpted, taller-than-surroundings rock at both close and longer range.
- SuperCam laser and spectrometer measurements detected unusually high iron and nickel, consistent with a metallic meteorite.
- Scientists note that iron–nickel meteorites have been found elsewhere on Mars, but confirmation here will require additional analyses.
- The team will evaluate whether to cache material for possible future return, and one report describes small surface spherules whose origin remains under study.