No human being has yet set foot on Mars, but something has preceded us.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover announced on its Twitter account Wednesday that it had encountered a piece of human-generated litter on the Red Planet.
“My team has spotted something unexpected: It’s a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021,” the rover tweeted.
My team has spotted something unexpected: It’s a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021. pic.twitter.com/O4rIaEABLu
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
Perseverance first landed on Mars in February 2021, according to HuffPost. Since then, it has been scouring the planet’s Jezero Crater for any evidence of life, Insider reported. Instead, it’s found evidence of the life that sent it there.
The rover team said that it was a “surprise” for it to find the piece of the thermal blanket where it did, since the rover landed about two kilometers (approximately 1.2 miles) away from where it was found.
“Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind?” the rover account asked.
Thermal blankets are used to control temperatures, and Perseverance was wrapped up in this foil material ahead of its departure.
That shiny bit of foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperatures. It’s a surprise finding this here: My descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind? pic.twitter.com/uVx3VdYfi8
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022
The piece of blanket isn’t the only trash that Perseverance has brought to Mars. In April, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took photos of the gear left behind when Perseverance landed.
“The parachute and cone-shaped backshell protected the rover during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021,” NASA wrote.
The garbage on Mars is an example of a growing problem: As humans explore space, they leave trash behind. Debris from previous missions includes boots, parachutes and entire vehicles, according to Insider. The Department of Defense’s global Space Surveillance Network sensors currently track more than 27,000 pieces of “space junk” orbiting the Earth, according to NASA.
“Much more debris — too small to be tracked, but large enough to threaten human spaceflight and robotic missions — exists in the near-Earth space environment,” NASA wrote. “Since both the debris and spacecraft are traveling at extremely high speeds (approximately 15,700 mph in low Earth orbit), an impact of even a tiny piece of orbital debris with a spacecraft could create big problems.”
The space trash poses a threat to the International Space Station and other human-populated space vessels. However, there are not many regulations protecting space from this debris, Insider pointed out. For more rules to be enforced, space would have to be defined as humanity’s common heritage, University of San Francisco astronomy professor Aparna Venkatesan said at an event reported by Insider.
“Do we view space as our shared ancestry?” she asked. “Whose heritage is it and how do you honor it?”
These questions beg an answer sooner rather than later. NASA wants to send the first humans to Mars next decade, according to HuffPost. They will likely bring more trash with them.
This article originally appeared on Ecowatch.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Gorgeous drone pics that will give you a new perspective on the world
If you’ve ever climbed a mountain or even just a tree, you know perspective can change the way many things look. We’ve found some of the most stunning drone photos on the internet that capture everyday life from a unique perspective, marvels from a viewpoint you can’t see on a tour and extraordinary (and sometimes dangerous) natural phenomena and other spectacular sites.
Keep scrolling to take in some truly out-of-this-world drone photography.
Lukas Bischoff / iStock
This photo was taken over a beach on the Mediterranean Sea in Sardinia, Italy, in 2017. Beach-goers soak up some sun as the shadow of an airplane passes overhead, casting a once-in-a-lifetime shot of the shadow perfectly over the water.
Travel Wild / iStock
The Great Wall of China looks even greater here. Shot in Beijing, the wall separates a frosty landscape from a side that hasn’t been touched by the snow, creating a Yin-Yang-like design.
Keattisak A / iStock
This shot looks like the opening of an epic period piece. The sun peeks out from the corner over a shot of the Temple of Poseidon in Attica, Greece, with rolling mountains in the background as boats float by.
SHansche / iStock
You may be able to visit Wat Tang Sai Temple in Thailand in person, but you won’t see it from this angle. Shot by drone over a pagoda, this photo shows off the luxurious red and gold rooftop and the perfect symmetry of the building.
Nymphoenix / iStock
Sports fans will love this shot of Indonesia’s Senayan Stadium at nighttime. The photo perfectly catches the glow of the stadium, the full moon and the cityscape in the background.
CreativaImages / iStock
A group of horses are accompanied by their shadows in a stable. While we don’t know the location of this epic shot, the shadowy horses and fencing contrast with the ombre-colored dirt, creating an outstanding perspective of farm life.
Kyryl Gorlov / iStock
Who knew a roundabout could be so beautiful? This shot shows off a spiral landscape with intrinsic designs in the middle of a roundabout in Madrid.
Ernhkm / iStock
You may have to look closely to decipher this everyday beauty. It’s a zig-zag patterned spillway in Ohio’s Indian Lake. The perfect lighting in this one makes the spillway look like a beautiful abstract design.
Nicholas Smith / iStock
The photographer here notes that they took this photo shortly after Hurricane Irma hit Key West’s Wisteria Island. Four sailboats sit abandoned on the shoreline shortly after the devastating hurricane.
Felixmizioznikov / iStock
This series of demolished Indian homes is both devastating and mysterious. The photographer notes that they came across it while traveling, and the cause of the destruction is unknown.
Amlanmathur / iStock
Shot in the Baltic Sea near Helsinki, Finland, this drone shot shows off the beauty and intrigue of frozen isea in winter. Sea water freezes at around 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and the National Ocean Service estimates that at least 15% of the world’s ocean is covered by this salty sea ice for at least part of the year.
Subodh Agnihotri / iStock
These dune fields can be found near the Dead Vlei and Namib Naukluft National Park in Namibia. The aerial enhances the vastness of these epic and one-of-a-kind sandscapes.
Jay Roode / iStock
This array of colorful umbrellas was shot in Hong Kong in 2019. In a COVID-19 world, it’s hard to remember traveling, let alone being so close to so many strangers.
LewisTsePuiLung / iStock
Far from the crowded streets of Hong Kong, a sole swimmer on a pink innertube swims alone near Oludeniz on the Dead Sea.
Den-belitsky / iStock
Providing even more contrast to the swimmer, this photo features picnic-goers in Ankara, Turkey. The drone perfectly captures a summery day in a local park.
Yusufozluk / iStock
In Russia’s Altai Mountains sits this geyser lake. You can see blue clay and silt surrounding the thermal springs in this otherworldly shot.
rusak/ iStock
This view of an Icelandic volcano could easily be mistaken for an extraterrestrial shot. The drone captures the heat of the volcano contrasted with the much cooler valleys surrounding it.
Biletskiy_Evgeniy / iStock
Pictured is a drone shot of a cornfield fire in Denmark from the summer of 2018. The photo captures a firetruck, situated at the edge of the burnt farmland and the rest of the field.
Christiantdk / iStock
This may look like abstract art, but it’s actually the shoreline of Koh Samui Island in Thailand. You can see the red sand, foamy white waves and the ombre of turquoise color from the water.
Oleg Shuldiakov / iStock
Shot in Khwai, Botswana, this shot offers an epic view of an everyday wonder. A herd of elephants wander through the dry plains in search of a nearby river.
Jay Roode / iStock
For those who live on South Island, New Zealand, herding sheep is often a part of everyday life.
Avid Photographer / iStock
In Krimulda, Latvia, a single tree stands tall as its shadow extends down below it. In the background, you can see trails, the only sign of life besides the tree itself in this otherwise still and barren landscape.
Desant7474 / iStock
This aerial view of camping grounds on Doi Mon Cham Mountain in Thailand is truly outstanding. You can see the elevated mountains contrasting with the shadowy valleys and waterways surrounding them.
Pierrick Lemaret / iStock
This shot shows off the haunting beauty of The Hill of Slane Castle ruins and the remains of a nearby castle. Their shadows stretch across a field of green as neighboring villages dot the background of the shot.
Eugene_remizov / iStock
This shot of a city in transition from night to day is from Cappadocia, Turkey. Even more amazingly, it shows off natural rock shaped almost like a castle standing watch over the city.
Javarman3 / iStock
Deep in the Swiss Mountains on a snowy day, this drone shot shows a nearly empty road in one of the mountain’s many winding passageways. The contrasting black asphalt and white snow makes for a spectacular shot.
Michael Hausmann / iStock
The Zhangye National Geopark in Gangsu, China, is home to many rainbow mountains, including the one pictured here. This unique blend of minerals in these sandstone hills and mountains is certainly a marvelous sight.
Photons_in_action / iStock
The Skogafoss Waterfall in Iceland is a popular tourist attraction. However, here, the drone captures a view of the falls sans human, letting its deep green pastures and foamy white waters be the true start of the shot.
Biletskiy_Evgeniy / iStock
These may look like pyramids, but they’re actually stone formations in Switzerland with a scenic route cutting through them. Fog overlays the fall scene, making for an interesting and glorious shot of the stone pyramids.
Michael Hausmann / iStock
Here, we have actual pyramids shot from above. This aerial features The Pyramid of King Khafre in Giza. You can see the layers of the pyramid from a unique perspective with this top-down view.
Islam Moawad / iStock
Nazca Desert, Peru, is home to many geoglyphs and spirals, including the one here. These are
Nazca lines drawing geoglyphs of the spiral, Nazca desert, Peru. The lines were made over 2,000 years ago, although not much is known about them.
SL_Photography / iStock
This street mural was created by area artists during the June 2020 Capitol Hill Organized Protest in Seattle. The colorful letters on Pine Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood were made a permanent installation by the city later that year.
Jon Fisch
Deep in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest deserts, a pair of campers settle in for the night. You can see the sand illuminated by the light of the fire.
Abriendomundo / iStock
This shot of Dubai shows a man walking on a desert road toward the city. The combination of fog and swirling sand make it a truly one-of-a-kind shot.
Travel Wild / iStock
We’re traveling back to the Atacama Desert for this shot of solar panels. The sun gleams over the panels as it snuggles in for the night behind mountains of sand.
Abriendomundo / iStock
The Holy Heart Land, or Thung Thalay Luang in Sukhothai, Thailand, is so named because it’s shaped like a heart. This shot shows off the small island and the vast Yom River surrounding it.
Nymphoenix / iStock
This storm surge barrier in the Netherlands vents water to stop flooding after heavy rains and high tides. The shot perfectly captures the moment the surge kicks in and starts pumping water away from the nearby road.
CloudVisual / iStock
This overhead shot of a public city park in Moscow shows the intrinsic designs of the green landscape contrasted with the neighboring city. If you look closely, you can see a colorfully designed section of the park with a rainbow and clouds near the bottom right corner.
Nikita Birzhakov / iStock
The cherry blossoms on the University of Washington campus are especially beautiful in this sunset photo with Mount Rainier in the background.
Jon Fisch
This drone shot shows off a lone car braving this desolate bridge over a waterway in Finland. You can see the light hit the ripples of the dark water as the car travels by.
Wmaster890 / iStock
This overhead view of downtown Dubai shows off the foggy skyline on a winter day. Peeking underneath the skyscrapers are city streets, barely visible over all the fog.
Kertu_ee / iStock
This top-down view shows off the financial district of downtown Singapore. In the center is the Fountain of Wealth, a famous attraction for tourists and locals alike.
Diversity Studio / iStock
This abandoned train trestle near Olympia, Washington, is also known as Rainbow Railroad because it was painted in rainbow colors. There’s not a lot of information out there about who did it or why, but plenty of curiosity seekers make the hike to see the bridge.
Jon Fisch
The Hong Kong financial district looks like a processor for a computer when shot from overhead. Neat blocks of buildings are outlined by busy city streets and cars traveling in the downtown district.
Tampatra / iStock
You’ve seen photos of the Eiffel Tower, but what about the line to get into it? A swirl of people wait their turn to see the famous structure, snaking through the street because of how long it is.
Exaklaus-photos / iStock
This shot shows off yet another Icelandic volcano, this time in the country’s Highlands region. You can see the volcanic crater surrounded by waves of purple-maroon sand, green pastures and waterways.
Lukas Bischoff / iStock
This birdseye view of Portugal’s Islet of Vila Franca do Campo shows off an underwater volcano, centered in the heart of San Miguel Island. A boat cruises at the edge of thef frame in the right corner.
Aroxopt / iStock
In Ayia Napa, Cyprus, a maze in a local botanical garden is shot from above. Sunny shadows peek through the natural design, which features a sole tall tree in the middle of it.
TPopova / iStock
This drone photographer caught a lone seal swimming in the crystal clear waters near Tacoma, Washington. Makes you want to jump right in with him!
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This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Jon Fisch
R.M. Nunes/ istockphoto
Featured Image Credit: NASA.
