NASA's Perseverance Rover rolls on Mars with a rock stuck in one of its 6 wheels; SEE

The Perseverance Rover of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) rolling on the surface of Mars has picked up a rock in one of its six wheels. The latest image shared by the space organisation on March 2 showed that the rock is currently sitting inside the interior of one of Percy's Sid aluminium wheels. The rock seems to be hitchhiking on the Mars Rover from February 25.

Space fans have voted the shot as Perseverance's "Image of the Week." Lodged on the wheel for over a week now, the stone has firmly placed itself on the Mars Rover and does not seem to come off soon.

Little rock appears to be a stubborn fixture on Perseverance rover

An image snapped by Perseverance's Onboard Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera or Hazcam showed that the rock is fixed on the interior of a wheel of the $2.2 billion rover. The interloper is smaller than a boulder but larger than a pebble, CNet reported, however, hasn't slowed down the pace or efficiency of the rover, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) told Gizmodo. Currently, scientists are trying to figure out how the "cosmetic annoyance" hopped on one of Perseverance's six wheels. NASA JPL's spokesperson Andrew Good also confirmed that the rock is "not perceived as a risk" to the rover's progress except for making the driving a bit noisier.

[This image of pebble-sized debris in the bit carousel on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover was acquired on Jan. 7, 2022. Image: NASA]

"We've seen these kinds of rocks get 'caught' in Curiosity's wheels from time to time, too. They occur during cross-slope drives, and tend to fall out entirely on their own after a while (there's no particular way to get this rock out of our 'shoe')," Andrew Good said in an email to CNet.

[NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snapped this view of a hill in Mars’ Jezero Crater called “Santa Cruz” on April 29, 2021. Image: NASA]

Rock expected to hop on Percy's wheel during Jezero Crater drive

The rock was reportedly picked up by the Mars Rover in early February "likely when we did our first long AutoNav Drive" on the rough, Rocky, and dusty traction in Jezero Crater. The cross-slope driving made it easier for the rock to hop on the 20.7 inches (52.5 cms) in diameter wheel. The wheels, however, are expected to withstand such intrusions. The upgraded wheels ensure prevention of wear-and-tear seen NASA's Curiosity rover.

NASA's Perseverance rover is currently trucking across Mars to backtrack toward the Octavia E. Butler landing. It is covering longer distances than any done before during the said mission. The mission planners are aimed at collecting more surface samples from Mars before the rover reaches Jezero delta.

(Image: NASA/Caltech)