Mysterious Mars rock looks like jelly donut!
HOUSTON, Texas (PNN) - January 22, 2014 - A mystery rock on Mars that suddenly appeared in front of the NASA Opportunity rover may look like a tasty donut, but it is like nothing ever seen on the Martian surface before.
The strange Mars rock was spotted by Opportunity on Jan. 8 in a spot where, 13 days earlier, there was nothing. The rock, which scientists now call "Pinnacle Island," is white on the outside, red in the middle, and appeared after Opportunity had just finished a short drive.
"It looks like a jelly donut," said Steve Squyres, the rover's lead scientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, during a recent NASA event marking Opportunity's tenth year on Mars. "It just plain appeared at that spot and we haven't driven over that spot."
