FILE - Curiosity viewed this rock shaped like a piece of coral on July 24, 2025. The rover has found many rocks that were formed by minerals deposited by ancient water flows. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
NASA’s Curiosity rover has spotted some unusually-shaped rocks on Mars’ surface.
Coral on Mars?
Dig deeper:
Photos shared on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website show wind-eroded rocks that are shaped like pieces of coral.
The rover discovered these specimens on July 24, 2025.
Researchers nicknamed the rock "Paposo."
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NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover sends back eerie new photos of the red planet
As NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover continues to venture along the vast landscape of the red planet, a series of unsettling photographs was recently sent back to Earth, capturing a truly eerie and lonely landscape.
The backstory:
Many rocks like Papaso litter the red planet’s surface, which researchers said formed billions of years ago when liquid water still existed on Mars.
In 2022, NASA shared images of another rock that also looked like coral but more flower-shaped.
The flower-shaped rock was found in the Gale Crater.
FILE - Smaller than a penny, the flower-like rock artifact on the left was imaged by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the end of its robotic arm. (NASA)
What they're saying:
"Water carried dissolved minerals into rock cracks and later dried, leaving the hardened minerals behind. Eons of sandblasting by the wind wore away the surrounding rock, producing unique shapes," NASA said.
Curiosity has been roving Mars’ surface for 13 years, according to JPL’s website.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the JPL website.