There are many things found on Mars, but what piqued the interest of conspiracy theorists and believers of alien life forms is the "cannonball" looking object found on the Red Planet's surface. This object was found by the Curiosity Rover on its earlier missions, and it was able to capture an unusual almost perfect spherical object that indeed resembles a cannonball.
However, NASA clarified that this is not a cannonball, but what is it exactly?
NASA Debunks Cannonball From Mars, Found by Curiosity
(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)
CNET reported that back in 2017, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover found a rock that resembles a "cannonball," and it caused a massive uproar for the public seeing this image. However, this was dismissed by NASA, debunking that the so-called "cannonball" is not what people think they are.
Superficial theories and speculations came to light, with people believing that it is a cannonball.
NASA said that these are pebbles, and yes, these are space rocks. However, this specific image that rocked the world is different from the earlier discovered by the Opportunity Rover.
What Curiosity found was a 5mm round concretion I containing calcium sulfate and sodium + magnesium.
Opportunity's find was the brightly colored hematite-rich pebbles that resemble "blueberries."
Read Also: NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Phones Home After Being Silent for 2 Months
Mars may be named for the god of war, but these weird things aren't cannonballs. They're pebbles.
The round 5mm concretion I found (L) contains calcium sulfate, sodium + magnesium, making it different from the hematite-rich "blueberries" (R) @MarsRovers Opportunity found. Cool! pic.twitter.com/BDWwrOv02l— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) December 5, 2017
Mars Pebbles are as Clean As They Appear
These pebbles are as clean as they appear, with almost perfect spherical shapes that may look like a cannonball, and it was understandable why people associated it with people-made artillery.
Still, these are Mars' pebbles and do not point to any cosmic phenomena or existence in the world, plainly rocks that exist on the Red Planet as found by its many rovers looking to study its different aspects.
Mars and the Different Discoveries
Snap back to reality, there are still a lot of things that are left unexplained or unknown to humans from their exploration of Mars, with different rovers tasked to explore it. The older and earlier Curiosity rover has long given humans different information and discoveries on the Red Planet, including the morning and afternoon views transformed into a postcard.
It was once believed that Mars is a planet known for its ancient lakes and rivers, with the seemingly dry and barren planet initially home to bodies of water. It was revealed earlier this year that Curiosity found major clues behind it, finding water ripples on the Martian surface of where the bodies of water once were, suggesting a lake was here before.
With much evidence and still a lot of questions to answer, Mars is a planet that is brimming with life in the past, but in its present wake, left a lot for humans to see. Despite the seeming cannonball objects found before, NASA debunked these and claimed these were only pebbles that are apparent in the rocky planet of Mars.
Related Article: Olympus Mons Suspected to Be Volcanic Island From the Past
