On February 24, 2022, a Mars rover called Curiosity discovered a rock unlike all others. This rock was found within the Gale Crater and is smaller than a penny. While many rocks have been found on Mars, this one is important because it is shaped like a flower. 

According to CNN, “The small pieces in this photo were created billions of years ago when minerals carried by water cemented the rock. This may be the closest we will ever come to finding a flower on Mars.” 

“The flower-like rock has been named Blackthorn Salt and it is a diagenetic feature, which means that it is made from mineral deposits left behind by an ancient water body.” The Indian Express explains. This tiny “flower” is “a diagenetic feature, or one made from minerals that precipitated from ancient water that had previously been mixed with Martian rock. Diagenetic features found on Mars are similar in size but can have either a branched shape, also known as dendritic form, like the Blackthorn Salt, or be more rounded or even spherical, like other rocks in the same photo, she added.” According to Live Science.

On November 26, 2011, Curiosity took flight as it launched at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas rocket. It landed on Mars on Sunday, August 5, 2012. “A signal from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, including the new Curiosity rover, was received by officials on the ground shortly after spacecraft separation. The spacecraft is flying free and headed for Mars after separation from the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that started it on its journey to the Red Planet. Liftoff was on time at 10:02 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.” NASA explains after the ship takes off.