NASA's Perseverance Rover Keeps Focusing on a Tiny Maze Hidden on the Surface of Mars - Here's Why

Ever since it touched down in Jezero Crater in 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover has been constantly roaming the Martian surface, clicking breathtaking images of alien landscapes, hunting for signs of ancient life that will one day help humans survive on the Red Planet. But among the stunning red vistas and dusty rock formations, there is something tiny, almost not important, that keeps showing up in the rover’s photo stream. It’s not a Martian fossil or an alien relic. It is a tiny maze on a metal plate. And Perseverance can’t have enough of it, as per Space.com.

That teeny tiny maze is no mystery at all. It is part of the SHERLOC Calibration Target, a key component of one of the rover’s most important instruments: Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals, or SHERLOC for short. This strange tool is Perseverance’s molecular detective, designed to scan Martian rocks using laser-based spectroscopy to detect organic compounds and minerals that could hint at ancient microbial life. Kyle Uckert, deputy principal investigator for SHERLOC at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, remarked, "The calibration targets serve multiple purposes, which primarily include refining the SHERLOC wavelength calibration, calibrating the SHERLOC laser scanner mirror, and monitoring the focus and state of health of the laser," as per Space.com.

The calibration plate mounted to the rover’s front holds ten specialized targets made of material with familiar properties. Among them are aluminum gallium nitride on sapphire, UV-scattering Diffusil, and even a chunk of Martian meteorite known as SaU008. But nestled between these high-tech materials is the star of this mystery: the maze. Uckert remarked, "SHERLOC is all about solving puzzles, and what better puzzle than a maze! There are no repeating patterns, and the spectrum of the chrome plating is distinct from the underlying silica glass…This is also where you’ll find the maze. Why a maze? ‘SHERLOC is all about solving puzzles, and what better puzzle than a maze!’” as per Daily Galaxy.

Uckert exclaimed, "SHERLOC spectral maps can resolve the 200 micron thick chrome plated lines and the 50 micron thick silhouette of Sherlock Holmes at the center of the maze…Note that we use all of these materials to fine-tune SHERLOC…As a bonus, the spacesuit materials support unique science that will help keep future astronauts safe." In true NASA fashion, there’s even more packed into the design. Look closely at the maze’s center and you’ll spot the silhouette of none other than Sherlock Holmes himself, just 50 microns wide, as per Space.com.

Below the maze on the same plate lies another layer of science and foresight. Five patches of modern spacesuit materials, including Kevlar, Teflon, and Gore-Tex, are being tested on Mars to see how they withstand its harsh conditions. This could directly inform how we design gear for future astronauts, as per Daily Galaxy.