Life for Perseverance, the plucky rover that is currently roaming the Red Planet some 132 million miles away from Earth, is quite lonely. From the desolate, dusty landscape of Jezero Crater to the gusty Martian winds, life on Mars is not for the faint of heart — or at least, for those who are extroverts. Hence, despite being a robot on a scientific research mission, researchers on NASA's Perseverance mission team were surprised recently to discover that Perseverance had accidentally adopted a pet rock.
It's unclear whether Perseverance chose the rock or the rock chose Perseverance, but scientists say the rock has found itself a cozy home on the rover's front left wheel, at which point it began to cling to it. According to a news release from NASA about the rock, the rock has been there since early February and has traveled more than 5.3 miles around Mars; Perseverance itself has traveled a total of 7.3 miles since it touched down on Mars in February 2021. Fortunately, the rock hasn't caused any damage to Perseverance, though it has certainly lived up to its owner as it perseveres in clinging to the rover after so many miles.
