--- title: "Noodle-Like Object on Mars Has Disappeared, According to NASA Photos" description: "An object that looks like a bundle of string that showed up in images taken by NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover earlier this month has suddenly disappeared." date: "2022-07-22" modified: "2022-07-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/noodle-like-object-mars-disappeared-nasa-photos" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "mars" - "NASA" - "perseverance" - "the digest" --- # Noodle-Like Object on Mars Has Disappeared, According to NASA Photos ![An object that looks like a bundle of string that showed up in images taken by NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover earlier this month has suddenly disappeared.]() *\Image: NASA/Futurism\* ## String Theory An object that looks like a bundle of string, or [possibly a noodle](), that [showed up in images]() taken by NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover earlier this month has suddenly disappeared, [*CNN* reports](). The object can clearly be seen in [July 12 images]() taken by the rover's Right Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam). Just [four days later](), the object was gone. To be clear, the object is likely Earthly in origin. While NASA has yet to confirm, a spokesperson for the mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) [told *Agence France-Presse*]() that "we have been discussing where it's from, but there's been speculation that it's a piece of cord from the parachute or from the landing system that lowers the rover to the ground." "Note that we don't have confirmation that it's one or the other," the spokesperson added. ## Space Trash The location where the string showed up is some ways off from Perseverance's landing spot in the Jezero Crater, an ancient delta that experts believe was once covered in water. Intriguingly, a JPL spokesperson — it's unclear if it was the same one — told *CNN* that it may have been blown there by the Martian wind. It's likely we'll see more of NASA's trash left behind on the Martian surface. In April, for instance, Perseverance [spotted its own parachute]() in the Martian desert after returning to the vicinity of its original landing spot. Then, in June, the rover [tweeted]() that "my team has spotted something unexpected," which turned out to be a "piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage." In short, space trash isn't just polluting Earth's orbit — you can now even find discarded debris on the surface of other planets. **More on the story:** *[NASA Intrigued by Noodle-Like Object Found on Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()