Scientists are stumped as to how a rock mysteriously appeared in images taken two weeks apart by Nasa's Mars rover Opportunity.
The rover, which landed in an area known as Meridiani Planum a decade ago, is exploring the rim of a crater for signs of past water.
Another rover, Curiosity, touched down on the opposite side of the planet in 2012 for a more ambitious mission to look for past habitable environments.
For the moment, however, scientists are pondering a more immediate question.
On January 8, while preparing to use its robotic arm for science investigation, Opportunity sent back a picture of its work area.
Oddly, it showed a bright white rock, about the size of a doughnut, where only barren bedrock had appeared in a picture taken two weeks earlier.