NASA Mars rover makes discovery 'unlike anything we've seen before'

NASA's Mars rover that's exploring the planet and conducting research, including picking up samples for analysis back on Earth, found a "texture unlike anything we've seen before".

The Perseverance rover, known as Percy, recently completed a climb out of the Jezero Crater where it first landed back in February 2021 where it's thought conditions there may have been good for microbial life.

It's moving over to the Northern Rim now where it's expected to visit four different sites and take several samples along the way.

And on its journey there, according to a post on its official X / Twitter account, Percy found something remarkable.

A post said: "My 26th sample, known as 'Silver Mountain', has textures unlike anything we've seen before. I've sealed the rock core in a sample tube so it can be analysed in labs on Earth in the future."

Working out how best to return these samples back to Earth, NASA said it's considering options that could see them returned to our planet as early as 2035 or as late as 2039.

In a statement at the start of the year, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: "Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan.

"These samples have the potential to change the way we understand Mars, our universe, and - ultimately - ourselves."

Nicky Fox, who leads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, added: "We want to bring those back as quickly as possible to study them in state-of-the-art facilities."

A decision is expected in the second half of 2026.

Elsewhere, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently captured a major spectacle in space in "unprecedented detail" and the odds of a 'city-destroying' asteroid hitting Earth in less than 10 years have risen.

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