NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image on March 14, 2021 (Sol 23) using its onboard Right Navigation Camera (Navcam). Photo: VCG

A tangled object discovered by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover has intrigued space watchers.

But the most plausible explanation is more prosaic: It's likely remnants of a component used to lower the robotic explorer to the Martian surface in February 2021. 

"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," a spokesman for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told AFP.