This Mars rock has teeth

Part of the rock outcrop called Cooperstown. Interesting pointed protrusions can be seen. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Part of the rock outcrop called Cooperstown. Interesting pointed protrusions can be seen in this Mastcam image from sol 440. Click image for larger version. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

As the Curiosity rover currently inspects a rock outcrop called Cooperstown, this rock seems to be baring its teeth. Some interesting pointed protrusions can be seen near the middle and lower right of the image. Below is a closeup of one of these teeth-like protrusions. Fossilized Martian shark teeth? No, probably not, but they are an intriguing feature for sure.

Close-up view of one of the teeth-like protrusions, from sol 442. Click image for larger version. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Close-up Mastcam view of one of the teeth-like protrusions, from sol 442. Click image for larger version. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Close-up Chemcam view of the same protrusion, from sol 442. Click image for larger version. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Close-up ChemCam view of the same protrusion, from sol 443. Click image for larger version. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Paul Scott Anderson is a freelance space writer with a life-long passion for space exploration and astronomy. He currently writes for The Spaceflight Group, AmericaSpace and Examiner.com. His own blog The Meridiani Journal is a chronicle of planetary exploration.
 
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0 thoughts on “This Mars rock has teeth”

  1. Gosh, if I didn’t know better, I’d say it looks like a fossilized fish, with an eye behind and above the mouth (teeth), and even a fin behind that, before the head. Nah…couldn’t be, right?

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