In Jezero Crater, the Perseverance rover finds a strange rock shaped like a skull, which may be a clue to Mars' enigmatic geological past.

On April 11, NASA's Perseverance rover was investigating a ridge called Witch Hazel Hill when it came upon an odd rock formation shaped like a skull. The ridge is situated inside the enormous 28-mile-wide basin known as Jezero Crater, which geologists assume was perhaps an ancient lake.

The region around the rock, known as "Skull Hill," is darker, more angular, and has small holes, in contrast to the surrounding countryside, which is primarily light-colored and dusty. Margaret Deahn, a Purdue University PhD candidate who works with NASA, says Skull Hill's color and texture imply it may have been transferred from another location.

According to the study team, erosion, an old impact event, or another natural activity may have moved the rock. Apart from Skull Hill, the Perseverance rover has come across a number of odd rocks that seem to have come from somewhere else and been transported to their present positions.

It was believed that Skull Hill was a meteorite. However, NASA scientists discovered no increased quantities of iron or nickel—common markers of meteorites—after Perseverance's laser-powered SuperCam examined the chemical makeup of the surrounding rocks. This eliminated the chance that it originated in space.

According to a popular notion, Skull Hill is an igneous rock that may have been created millions or perhaps billions of years ago by cooling magma or lava.

Finding more of these geological oddities is expected to provide scientists with fresh information about Mars' history of temperature, aquatic past, and maybe even evidence of ancient life.