NASA's Perseverance rover has stumbled across a curious, volcano-shaped rock on the surface of Mars that looks rather like a weathered battle helmet.
Captured by the rover's Mastcam-Z instrument on Aug. 5, 2025, the rock displays a pointed peak and pitted nodular texture that evokes an image of armor forged centuries ago. On Earth, similar nodule textures can form through chemical weathering, mineral precipitation or even volcanic processes. Perseverance found a similar rock in March 2025.
