The Curiosity rover has captured one of the most unusual rocks in its entire lifetime on the surface of Mars.
The black and white photo shows a shiny rock partially submerged in the ground, which looks very much like a large gold nugget.
NASA researchers accidentally spotted this rock while looking at one of the last images of the rover. They named it "Little Colonsay" in honor of the Scottish islet, which the stone looks like in outline.
The bright stone stands out very strongly against the background of the usual "matte" stones surrounding it.
People were so interested in the strange stone that NASA decided to return the rover back to this area of the terrain and study it better, and ideally take samples of it.
It is unlikely that this "golden" stone is really made of gold or even copper. According to scientists, this is most likely part of a meteorite and that is why it has such a shiny surface.
However, the scientists also add that the meteorite version is only a version and the study of the sample could bring many surprises, which could potentially lead to a big discovery.
When Curiosity reaches this stone for the second time, it will use the ChemCam to study the Little Colonsey. ChemCam is a complex consisting of a spectrograph, a powerful camera and a laser.
Promotional video:
Using a laser, a tiny sample will be separated from the stone, which will then be examined and subjected to chemical analysis.
