The strange cylinder-like object, seen in a frame taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover, has once again got everyone excited. In a message posted on Twitter by a curious user, it was even suggested that it could be an artifact of an ancient civilization on the Red Planet or a fragment of a fallen UFO.
However, the intriguing item turned out to be actually a NASA relic. Some people have condemned NASA for throwing garbage on the planet. “We haven’t set foot on the planet yet, and we’re already throwing garbage,” one person wrote. Another pointed out that Mars is a “robot graveyard” because of all the old mission devices left behind over the years: “No probe and rover we sent was brought back.”
This part is called the ‘ejection wear part’. It was dropped on the ground in July, according to NASA.
“This particular drill bit was installed prior to launch to seal the drill and protect the interior,” the Perseverance team said in a tweet. The tweet continued: “To keep the science clean and clear, I’m putting it aside before I start collecting samples with new, pristine drill bits.”
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