The Coral that Never Touched Water: The Martian Discovery Baffling NASA
In the midst of the loneliness of Mars, a strange glimmer caught the attention of NASA. It wasn’t a fossil or a lost reef fragment, but a tiny rock whose branches seemed sculpted by the depths of the sea. The paradox: this coral never knew the ocean.
A sculpture created by Mars and time
On July 24th, NASA’s rover Perseverance captured it. In black and white, its image revealed a delicate tangle of branches that could deceive even the most expert eye. But it’s not about life, but pure geology: formations that were born billions of years ago, when Mars still harbored rivers and lakes.
The water, loaded with minerals, seeped through the rock and left solid veins inside. Then, sand and wind worked for eons, removing the softer material and exposing this mineral skeleton, a piece that looks like it came from a ghostly reef.
More signs of a planet that could have hosted life
Like “Paposo,” a five-centimeter rock with unique contours, or the small flower-shaped figure discovered in 2022. Each one, another clue in the Martian puzzle.
Since 2012, the rover has been slowly advancing across the red planet, drilling rocks and analyzing samples. Its discoveries—carbon chains from 3.7 billion years ago, hints of a carbon cycle—suggest that the red planet was not always a hostile desert. Perhaps, in a remote past, there were conditions for life there.
