NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover may have spotted an interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, in the Martian night sky. The rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument captured an image of a bright light trail, and while the source of the light has not been confirmed, scientists speculate it could be the aforementioned comet.
The image was captured on 14th April 2022, when the comet was expected to be in proximity to Mars. The Mastcam-Z, a set of zoomable cameras, is capable of capturing color images and 3D views of the Martian landscape. The rover, which landed on Mars on 18th February 2021, has been conducting geological assessments of the planet’s Jezero Crater, a former lake that existed more than 3.5 billion years ago.
Comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered in December 2021 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii. It is only the fourth interstellar object detected in our solar system, following ‘Oumuamua in 2017, 2I/Borisov in 2019, and C/2021 (P4) in 2021. Interstellar objects are celestial bodies that originate outside our solar system, and their sightings are relatively rare.
The image captured by Perseverance shows a bright light with a tail, similar to that of a comet. However, it also could be a meteor, a small celestial body that burns up upon entering a planet’s atmosphere. Comets, on the other hand, are icy bodies that, when they get close to the sun, heat up and leave a trail of gas and dust behind them.
Scientists are currently working to confirm the source of the bright light. If it indeed turns out to be 3I/ATLAS, it would mark the first time an interstellar object is observed from another planet. This would provide invaluable insights into these rare celestial bodies and contribute significantly to our understanding of the universe.
NASA’s Perseverance rover continues its mission to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) for a potential return to Earth. The rover also carries the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a technology demonstration to prove that powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet. NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon to help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
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