By Tim Binnall
NASA's Curiosity Rover discovered a rather sizable metallic meteorite sitting on the surface of Mars. The scientific vehicle reportedly came upon the remarkable object late last month as it was exploring an area around the Red Planet's Mount Sharp. By way of a laser instrument equipped to the rover, the space agency was able to determine that the meteorite, which measures around a foot in diameter and has been given the name 'Cacao,' is comprised of iron-nickel.
Answering questions about the discovery on Twitter, the space agency indicated that it is impossible to determine how old the meteorite might be and marveled that "it could have been here millions of years." As to why there did not appear to be any sign of impact around the fairly large object, the Curiosity team explained that "there likely was a big crater in the ancient past. Over time, erosion and other forces flatten the area around it, carving away everything but the hardest material."