Unusual meteorite found on Mars: it is different from the rest

On January 27, or the 3724th Martian day of the mission, NASA's Curiosity rover found a unique meteorite. At the heart of it

composition - nickel.Due to its resemblance to cocoa beans, it was nicknamed "Cocoa". Its length is 30 cm across. Curiosity found it in a "sulphate-bearing stratum," NASA writes. The next day, he changed position and took better pictures of the meteorite.

As NASA writes on social media, Curiosity has spotted several similar objects before, but "it's always nice to change the scenery." In addition, the unusual meteorite "Cocoa" is different from the others in the region.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

"Cocoa" is different from the surrounding rock, coveredred oxide. The dark gray meteorite looks like a metal object. The Curiosity Camera Mast, or Mastcam, captured the panorama with a 100mm lens. The panorama consists of 19 images stitched together after being sent to Earth.

Close-up of "Cocoa" via ChemCam; red targets are places where the instrument's laser "aims" at the meteorite. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Regmaglipts, grooves and pits on an iron meteoriteprove that he passed through the atmosphere of the Red Planet. The regmaglypts are likely due to the action of eddies of hot gas, which melted the rock as it passed through the atmosphere.

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