NASA has released the clearest image of Mars to date.

NASA has released the clearest image of Mars to date. This stunning photo taken by the Perseverance rover highlights the blue rocks that adorn the Martian surface.

The image shows a speckled white rock formation surrounded by dark blue volcanic basalt rocks. NASA has named this rocky area "Mount Washburn." The mineral composition of the white rock differs from what NASA has previously observed on Mars.

Since February 2021, Perseverance has been exploring the area known as Jezero Crater. This 28-mile-wide crater was once filled with water about 3.7 billion years ago and contains traces of a "paleolake" and a lost river delta.

Dr. Katie Stack Morgan from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, "Most of the bluish-black rocks at Mount Washburn are volcanic basalt, which is commonly seen on the Martian surface." However, the white speckled rock surprised the NASA team.

Perseverance's advanced analysis tool, SuperCam, confirmed that the white rock is anorthosite. Dr. Stack Morgan noted that anorthosite is a type of rock that has long been theorized but has not been previously documented on Mars.

NASA has named this newly discovered white rock "Atoko Point," which measures approximately 18 inches wide and 14 inches high. Anorthosite contains more silica than basalts, suggesting that the rock may have originated from deeper layers of Mars.

Dr. Stack Morgan stated, "Seeing a rock like Atoko Point is an important clue indicating the presence of anorthosites on Mars." This discovery could provide new insights into the structure beneath the Martian surface and the planet's formation.

NASA continues to search for possible signs of ancient life on Mars using the Perseverance rover. The fine clay layers in Jezero Crater offer hope that microbial life may have once existed in this region.