• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
NASA scientists stunned after discovering mysterious 'skull hill' on Mars

Home> Science

Published 09:29 23 Apr 2025 GMT+1

NASA scientists stunned after discovering mysterious 'skull hill' on Mars

Early analysis suggests it’s not from a meteorite

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

Our closest planet is full of many wonders and mysteries, most of which we're still uncovering.

Last month, NASA’s Curiosity rover detected the largest organic compounds ever found on Mars, which could indicate signs of Martian life.

Also, earlier this month, scientists were left baffled after NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered a bizarre rock on Mars, containing hundreds of millimetre-sized marbles packed together in an alien-like mass.

Now, the US space agency has been stumped again after coming across a weird rock on the Red Planet that looks suspiciously like a 'skull.'

Advert

The photo of the eerie-looking rock was taken by the Perseverance rover, which has been exploring Mars for over four years and sending photos back to Earth.

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover shows the ‘Skull Hill’ target. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover shows the ‘Skull Hill’ target. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)

Captured by Mastcam-Z, the raised camera, the rover made its way down a slope known as Witch Hazel Hill in the Jezero Crater.

Coincidentally, this wasn't not too far from where a creepy 'face' rock was spotted back in 1976.

Advert

The jagged-shaped rock seemingly stands out in the photo, darker than the surrounding reddish terrain and covered in tiny pits - hence the 'skull' reference.

It’s not the first dark rock Perseverance has come across in the Port Anson region, but this one’s unique. The US space agency suspects that the rock may have broken off from a 'nearby outcrop or ejected from an impact crater.'

According to NASA's blog post, minerals like 'olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite' can give these rocks their dark colour.

Along the way, the rover also came across a bunch of similar rocks that likely didn’t form where they were found, known as 'float' rocks.

Advert

There's still so much to uncover about our neighbouring planet. (SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty)
There's still so much to uncover about our neighbouring planet. (SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty)

"We’ve found a few of these dark-toned floats in the Port Anson region, and the team is working to better understand where these rocks came from and how they got here," PhD student Margaret Deahn explained the finding.

Deahn added that while the rock’s dark colour is similar to meteorites previously found on Mars, early analysis of similar rocks suggests it’s not one. Another possibility is that it could be an igneous rock, formed when magma or lava cools down after being released from volcanoes.

NASA added in its blog post: "On Earth and Mars, iron and magnesium are some of the main contributors to igneous rocks, which form from the cooling of magma or lava.

Advert

"Luckily for us, the rover has instruments that can measure the chemical composition of rocks on Mars. Understanding the composition of these darker-toned floats will help the team to interpret the origin of this unique rock!"

Featured Image Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Mars
Nasa
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

a day ago
3 days ago
6 days ago
  • kinpanama / TikTok
    a day ago

    Truth behind tentacled 'creature' seemingly emerging from inside 'meteorite' after video goes viral

    Could it be Cthulhu?

    Science
  • ABC
    a day ago

    Doctor reveals what really happens to your body when you go under anesthesia

    It's some people's biggest fear

    Science
  • Katarzyna Ledwon-Zarzycka / Getty
    3 days ago

    Scientists create world's first ever 'time crystal' that could end up on $100 bills

    It could be used as an anti-counterfeit measure

    Science
  • Bill Turnbull/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
    6 days ago

    Experts reveal heartbreaking reason thousands of victims of 9/11 have still not been identified

    Almost half of the remains are still not identified to this day

    Science
  • NASA scientists stunned after discovering almost perfectly square structure on Mars
  • NASA confirms Mars rover has discovered the strongest evidence of 'ancient life' yet
  • NASA scientists astonished after discovering 'treasure' on Mars 'unlike anything ever seen before'
  • Scientists mind-blown after discovering a bizarre 'never seen before' rock on Mars