On June 3, NASA’s Perseverance rover faced off with a particularly puzzling piece of Martian geology—a rock the team dubbed “Kenmore.” Although the rock appeared ordinary at first glance, it proved to be anything but.
Perseverance attempted to grind away a small circular patch on Kenmore’s surface to study its interior minerals. But as deputy project scientist Ken Farley put it, “Kenmore was a weird, uncooperative rock.” Instead of yielding smoothly, it shuddered and flaked, forcing the team to tread carefully to extract usable data. Thankfully, just enough material was removed to press on.
Underneath Mars’ dusty façade, rocks like Kenmore hold chemical time capsules that can reveal ancient planetary processes—if you can get past the stubborn exterior. That’s where the rover’s powerful abrading tools come in, especially its gaseous Dust Removal Tool (gDRT). Unlike older rovers that used brushes, Perseverance blasts nitrogen gas to clear dust, avoiding earthly contamination. So far, it has puffed 169 times, with about 800 blasts still in its tank.
Once Kenmore’s surface was exposed, the rover’s science arsenal sprang to life. The WATSON camera captured close-ups, SuperCam fired rapid laser bursts to analyze the vaporized dust, and both SHERLOC and PIXL instruments dove into the mineral chemistry. The verdict? Kenmore hosts classic clay minerals and feldspar, and for the first time in the mission, a manganese hydroxide mineral.
Perseverance triumphs over challenges to unveil Mars’ geological secrets
That last discovery thrilled scientists. Clay points to ancient water activity, while manganese minerals might hint at more complex geochemical processes, possibly influenced by past microbial life or unique atmospheric conditions.
Kenmore’s odd resistance offered more than scientific insights—it provided valuable lessons for Mars exploration logistics. “Not all Mars rocks are created equal,” Farley noted. “Studying Kenmore gives us a better playbook for future missions—for sampling, fuel production, or even building Martian habitats.”
The rover didn’t rest on its rocky laurels. On June 19, it smashed its autonomous driving record, gliding 411 meters across Jezero Crater’s rim. That’s 4.5 football fields of red dust under its wheels.
As Perseverance rolls on, every stubborn stone and sudden find brings us closer to decoding the Red Planet’s deep past—and planning a smoother future for explorers yet to come.
