The lightsaber-shaped titanium tube containing a rock sample resting on the Red Planet’s surface was placed there on Dec. 21, 2025.
By Talker
By Dean Murray
NASA’s Perseverance Rover is celebrating five years on Mars this week.
Quirky photos show some of the space oddities it has spotted in its exploration of the Red Planet.
The ‘turtle’-shaped rock spotted by NASA’s Perseverance rover on August 31, 2025. (NASA / JPL-Caltech via SWNS)
By Talker
Puzzling finds range from rocks that look like turtles or sharks to a lightsaber.
But while the Star Wars weapon is actually a titanium tube dropped by the rover and containing a rock sample, other sights have left space fans guessing what they could be.
An egg-like rock on Mars from April 2023. (NASA / JPL-Caltech via SWNS)
By Talker
Notable sightings have seen Mars rocks that resemble a giant egg, a Harry Potter sorting hat shape and a Martian sombrero.
In March 2025, the Perseverance Science Team said they were “astonished by a strange rock” comprised of hundreds of millimetre-sized spheres – some with tiny pinholes.
Mars rock that has been compared to a sombrero and an avocado photo taken on September 8, 2023. (NASA / JPL-Caltech via SWNS)
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In 2022, a Martian stone that had been hitching a ride on Perseverance’s wheel finally fell off. NASA staff had dubbed it an “unexpected travelling companion”.
While in 2024, it made a significant find: the “Cheyava Falls” rock that provides possible evidence of ancient life on Mars.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the “St. Pauls Bay” target (the dark-toned float block in the right of the view) using its Left Mastcam-Z camera, one of a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s remote-sensing mast. Perseverance acquired this image on March 13, 2025. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU via SWNS)
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NASA’s History Office posted on X: “Celebrating 5 years on Mars! NASA’s Perseverance Rover safely landed on the surface of the Red Planet 5 years ago, ready to begin its search for signs of past life.
“In 2024, it made a significant find: the “Cheyava Falls” rock pictured here provides possible evidence of ancient life on Mars!”
Image of the rock on the Mars rover Perseverance acquired on May 26, 2022 (Sol 449). (NASA / JPL-Caltech via SWNS)
By Talker