NASA Names “Rolling Stones Rock” on Mars

August 22, 2019
CreditVideo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Music Courtesy: Rolling Stones
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The team behind NASA's InSight lander has informally named a rock on Mars “Rolling Stones Rock” after the band.

A little larger than a golf ball, the rock appeared to have rolled about 3 feet (1 meter) on Nov. 26, 2018, propelled by InSight's retrorockets as the spacecraft touched down to study the Red Planet's deep interior. In images taken by InSight the next day, several divots in the orange-red soil can be seen trailing "Rolling Stones Rock." It's the farthest NASA has seen a rock roll while landing a spacecraft on another planet. For more about the mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

Transcript

[Rocket]

[Rolling Stones-"It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"]

♪ I said I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it ♪

[flames]

♪ I said I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it ♪

[whoosh]

♪ Oooh! ♪

♪ I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it ♪

[rocket exhaust]
[debris, pebbles clatter]

♪ Yeah! ♪

♪ I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it ♪

♪ like it, ♪

♪ yes, I do ♪

♪ Oh, well, I like it, ♪

♪ I like it. ♪♪