Read also: "mystery rock" found by the Mars rover
The mystery rock was discovered by the Mars rover Opportunity, January 8 of this year. The discovery of the rock has baffled scientists because 12 days before Opportunity found it in its location, it wasn't there. The small, doughnut-like object that suddenly appeared in the photos sent back by the rover has made scientists scrambling for the answer to the question, where did it come from?
Rhawn Joseph, the man who sued NASA in account of denying that the rock is a living organism, filed his case on January at the US District Court of San Francisco. Joseph, who refers to himself as an astrobiologist and neuroscientist, said in his complaint, "NASA's rover team inexplicably failed to perform the basic demands of science, which is research, look again. The refusal to release high resolution photos is inexplicable, recklessly negligent and bizarre."
Denying the claims that the rock is a living organism, NASA has finally confirmed that the object is just a rock and the reason for its change of location was Opportunity's movement through the planet's surface. The rock dubbed as Pinnacle Island is a part of a larger rock that was chipped off and moved by the rover's wheels.
Ray Arvidson, deputy principal investigator for Opportunity, said to the Sydney Morning Herald, "Once we moved Opportunity a short distance, after inspecting Pinnacle Island, we could see directly uphill an overturned rock that has the same unusual appearance."
"We drove over it. We can see the track. That's where Pinnacle Island came from", he added.
Upon close investigation of the Pinnacle Island, it was revealed that the rock contained traces of manganese and sulfur. This means that these water-soluble elements have been trapped in the rock due to water.
