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Perseverance Unveils Ancient Igneous Rocks Beyond Jezero in New Selfie and Panorama

The new data point to very old crust that will steer the rover’s next sampling stops.

Overview

  • NASA, which released a 61‑image selfie and a 46‑image panorama Tuesday, documented Perseverance’s farthest push west at a site called Lac de Charmes outside Jezero Crater.
  • Grinding a small patch on the Arethusa outcrop let the team see igneous minerals that likely formed before Jezero Crater existed.
  • A Mastcam‑Z mosaic of the nearby Arbot area shows diverse ancient rocks, including megabreccia and a possible volcanic dike that scientists say could be among the oldest targets of the mission.
  • The selfie came from the WATSON camera on the rover’s arm after 62 precise arm moves stitched 61 frames into one view.
  • After work at Arbot, the plan is to drive to Gardevarri to examine olivine‑bearing rocks and then toward Singing Canyon, with the rover now at 62 abrasions, 27 rock cores, and nearly 26 miles driven.