Over the years, NASA has sent five rovers to Mars that are robotically operated and examine the planet's land in search of areas that may have been habitable.
NASA's most recent rover, Perseverance, began its mission in July 2020 and landed on Mars in February 2021. Over the last four months of its travels, Perseverance has had a "pet rock" companion tagging along for the ride, according to NASA.
Since the rock decided to find comfort in the rover's front left wheel, it has traveled more than 5.3 miles (8.5 km).
Eleni Ravanis, a NASA student collaborator from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, wrote an update about Perseverance's new friend and clarified that it isn't damaging the rover.
"This rock isn’t doing any damage to the wheel, but throughout its (no doubt bumpy!) journey, it has clung on and made periodic appearances in our left Hazcam images," Ravanis wrote.
Perseverance has been traveling on Mars for about 466 sols, or Mars days, as of June 12 -- which equals 479 Earth days. The rock hopped on board for the mission on sol 341, or Feb. 4, according to Ravanis.
Since it's hitchhiking journey began, the pet rock has explored the “Máaz” formation, which scientists think could be made up of lava flows. Perseverance then traveled north through the Octavia E. Butler landing site, before going west through “Kodiak," a delta remnant.
The rover is now in the Delta Front Campaign region on Mars, and may have possibly found its first sedimentary rock. Ravanis went on to say that "Perseverance’s pet rock is now a long way from home."
"Where might this pet rock end its journey?" Ravanis wrote. "It’s possible that the rock may fall out at some point along our future ascent of the crater rim. If it does so, it will land amongst rocks that we expect to be very different from itself. As one of our team members quipped this week, 'we might confuse a future Mars geologist who finds it out of place! '"
Ravanis added that this isn't the first pet rock to join a rover along on a mission across Mars, as a "potato sized" rock accompanied the Spirit rover in 2004, and the Curiosity rover also had a couple of pet rock companions during its mission.
"While it’s unclear exactly how long these rocks stuck around, they tended to hop off after a few weeks," Ravanis wrote. "Perseverance’s current companion is therefore on its way to setting Mars hitch-hiking records!"
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