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NASA's Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars after enduring a terrifying 7-minute descent through the Martian atmosphere. This touchdown marks a significant milestone in the history of space exploration and sets the stage for longer missions to search for life on the planet. Did you know that alongside Perseverance, there are 5 other peculiar items on board with lofty missions?Explore more articles 
For decades, NASA has adhered to a tradition known as 'festooning,' carrying intriguing items aboard spacecraft and sending them into space. For instance, on the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft launched in the 1970s, they carried a plaque depicting Earth's location in the galaxy, along with a drawing of a nude man and woman. Crafted by Carl Sagan, the intention was to send a message to any extraterrestrial life to let them know who we are and how to contact us. This time, among the items carried by the Perseverance rover is something similarly meaningful. So, what are these items?10.9 Million Names
Surely you remember NASA's 'Send Your Name to Mars' campaign, well, now the Perseverance rover carries a plaque containing 3 tiny super chips. Among them are the 10,932,295 names that people registered. In fact, this is a tradition of Mars rovers. Previously, the Curiosity rover also carried 1.2 million names to the planet. Alongside the names, Perseverance also carries 155 essays from students in the final round of NASA's naming contest. The victory belonged to a 7th-grade student named Alex Mather from Virginia.Aluminum plaque honoring healthcare workers
A metal plaque adorned with the symbol of the medical profession - an image of a snake entwined around a staff.
A commemorative aluminum plaque installed on the left side of the framework aboard the Perseverance rover, aiming to honor the tireless efforts and sacrifices of healthcare workers worldwide during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Perseverance was launched in July 2020, just a few months after the virus emerged in the U.S. Thus, the research team seeks to memorialize the significant events occurring during the rover's launch year, particularly the frontline doctors and nurses combating the pandemic.ExplorifyCam
Beyond mere mementos and decorations, the ExplorifyCam carries a different significance. This versatile camera is capable of zooming in to capture panoramic color images of Mars. Equipped with all the functions of a standard camera, the ExplorifyCam also bears an important message from NASA: 'Are we alone? We're here to search for signs of life and collect samples on Mars for research on Earth. To all those watching, we hope this journey yields success and plenty of excitement in exploration.'
The phrase 'excitement in exploration' is written in various languages around the ExplorifyCam. Adorning the device are also images depicting primitive life forms on Earth such as bacteria, algae, dinosaurs, and a depiction of a man and woman akin to the artwork on the former Pioneer spacecraft.Sherloc
If you're an enthusiast of treasure hunt games, you'll be thrilled to know that the project engineers have hidden a special coin made from helmet material in some of the equipment. NASA also declares that the treasure in this game will be more remote and exotic than ever. This coin is nestled within the calibration target for the Sherloc instrument (which scans the potentially habitable environment using Raman spectroscopy and fluorescent detection to search for organic and chemical compounds on the planet).
The device also bears the address of detective Sherlock Holmes: 221b Baker Street, London. Additionally, Sherloc is adorned with a Mars meteorite pattern and 4 samples of space travel material for testing the composition of materials on the Martian surface.The Martian Meteorite
The final item on the list is a sample of Martian meteorite placed within the SuperCam instrument aboard the Perseverance rover. SuperCam, equipped with a laser gun, aims to vaporize rock and soil samples on the Martian surface to determine their composition. This particular meteorite sample had previously been carried on a round-trip journey to the International Space Station (ISS).According to Space
