This image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument’s right eye, shows the ‘Skull Hill’ target, a dark-toned float rock. The rover acquired this image while driving west downslope towards lower ‘Witch Hazel Hill’. Perseverance acquired this image on April 11, 2025, or sol 1472 of the Mars 2020 mission
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover continues to make groundbreaking discoveries as it traverses the lower slopes of ‘Witch Hazel Hill’ on the rim of Jezero Crater, a key region believed to have once held ancient water. Last week, the rover paused at a unique geologic boundary known as a “contact zone”, where light and dark rock outcrops meet, a site now dubbed ‘Port Anson’ by the mission team.
This visible-from-orbit contact zone offers scientists a valuable look into Mars’ geological history, as the meeting of contrasting rock types can reveal clues about environmental changes over time. In addition to examining this significant boundary, Perseverance has encountered an intriguing array of “float” rocks—fragments that may have originated from distant Martian regions and were transported to their current location, possibly by ancient water or impact events.
The ongoing exploration of Jezero Crater is part of NASA’s mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for future return to Earth, with each rock and soil interaction adding to our understanding of the Red Planet’s past habitability.
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The dark coloration of Skull Hill has prompted comparisons to meteorites observed by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater. Chemical composition, particularly the presence of significant iron and nickel in Gale’s meteorites, is vital for identification. Nevertheless, recent analysis of SuperCam data obtained from comparable rocks in the vicinity of Skull Hill points to a chemical makeup that does not support a meteorite classification.
“Alternatively, ‘Skull Hill’ could be an igneous rock eroded from a nearby outcrop or ejected from an impact crater,” wrote Margaret Deahn, Ph.D. Student at Purdue University, in a blog post. “On Earth and Mars, iron and magnesium are some of the main contributors to igneous rocks, which form from the cooling of magma or lava. These rocks can include dark-colored minerals such as olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Luckily for us, the rover has instruments that can measure the chemical composition of rocks on Mars. Understanding the composition of these darker-toned floats will help the team to interpret the origin of this unique rock!”
Launched in 2020 and landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater in 2021, Perseverance is the newest American Mars rover. It is based on the successful design of Curiosity but with upgraded capabilities. Its primary goals are to search for signs of ancient microbial life, collect and cache samples of Martian rock and regolith for potential return to Earth, and test technologies for future human exploration of Mars. Perseverance carried the Ingenuity helicopter, which completed its mission in January 2024 but proved the feasibility of powered flight on another planet. Currently, Perseverance is exploring the rim of Jezero Crater, analyzing diverse rocks and collecting samples. Recent discoveries include unique rock textures and the presence of serpentine minerals, which typically form when water interacts with volcanic rocks.
