But the most plausible explanation is actually quite down to earth: according to some hypotheses, it could be pieces of the rope connecting the rover to the parachute that was used to slow its descent during its landing. Or to the one used to descend it during the last meters (a stage called “skycrane”). Perseverance has already found itself face to face several times with the equipment that allowed it to land on Mars.
Nasa/AFP
“It can be assumed that these small pieces of debris were moved by the wind after landing,” commented the NASA spokesperson. And they are probably still moving: a few days after the photo of the wires, the rover went back to the same place, but they had disappeared.
Decryption
These images were captured by the rover in the delta of an ancient river, which scientists believe flowed into a huge lake billions of years ago, and where Perseverance searches for traces of ancient life. Instead of the lake today: the Jezero crater, where the rover landed in February 2021. It was in this crater that he was able to photograph, in April, the parachute itself.
The small helicopter on board for the trip, called Ingenuity, for its part captured even more impressive images in flight: not only the parachute, but also the rear shield which contained the latter before its deployment.