NASA’s Perseverance rover, which touched down on Mars in February 2021, has just bagged a possible first in its own exploration history—a metallic rock that might be a meteorite, forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid. The rock, dubbed “Phippsaksla,” is about 80 centimeters across and sits perched on the rim of Jezero Crater’s Vernodden region. Its shiny, sculpted appearance was so striking that the mission team took notice immediately.
Rare Find Among Martian Rocks
Initial tests with Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument showed unusually high levels of both iron and nickel in Phippsaksla. This is significant because iron and nickel together, in such abundance, are almost only found in meteorites—those formed deep inside the cores of large asteroids. According to geologist Candice Bedford of Purdue University, so far, no other rock found in Jezero Crater has shared this metallic signature. She explained this rare mix of elements points toward an origin outside of Mars, most likely as a fragment hurled from somewhere else in the solar system before crash-landing on the Red Planet.
While Mars is constantly bombarded by meteorites, experts like Professor Gareth Collins of Imperial College London say only about one in twenty is rich in iron and nickel; the rest are mostly rocky. Previous Mars rovers (Curiosity, Opportunity, and Spirit) have stumbled on iron-nickel meteorites before, but this appears to be Perseverance’s first such find—a surprise, given the number of metallic “visitors” that have already been found across Martian landscapes.
What’s Next for Phippsaksla?
NASA isn’t declaring victory quite yet. Scientists are exercising caution and say further analysis will be needed to confirm whether Phippsaksla is, in fact, an iron-nickel meteorite. If confirmed, this shiny outlier will mark Perseverance’s entry into the club of Mars rovers that have studied these otherworldly relics.
The discovery doesn’t just add to the rover’s impressive resume—tracking Mars’ geology, hunting for ancient life, and collecting samples for future missions—it also gives us a peek into the planet’s long history with space debris and asteroid impacts. The age of the Jezero region, pocked with smaller craters, suggests that meteorite landings like these have helped shape the Martian surface for eons.
For now, Perseverance continues its search, and so do scientists, eager to unravel what other secrets may be hiding in plain sight along the Martian rim.
