It turns out that NASA’s Perseverance probe is loved by the Martian rocks. In early 2022, he had a stone stuck in his front wheel. This stone still continues to travel with Perseverance. Now a larger stone than before is stuck in his right front wheel.
Astrophotographer Simeon Schmauss noticed the new stone attached to Perseverance’s wheel in late February and tweeted a mosaic image of both rocks on the front wheels, seen by left and right anti-hazard cameras mounted low on the rover.
https://twitter.com/stim3on/status/1630374494379421696
With the previous stone navigator mounted on Perseverance’s wheel, he had traveled miles and witnessed the collection of rock specimens and the creation of the first specimen repository on another world.
One of Perseverance’s main mission goals is to help us understand whether Mars was once home to microbial life. Delivering the rover’s specimen collection to Earth for closer examination via the future Mars Sample Return mission is a key part of this effort.
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