RED PLANET

The unusual feature near Opportunity's landing area which was crushed when the rover was reversed over it

Interesting object crushed by Mars rover

This strange little thing, looking rather like a delicate flower or a skull with horns, was by far the most interesting item at Opportunity's landing site. As these excerpts from the panoramic view show, it was directly situated in front of the rover below the right end of an long, exposed formation of rocks.
It was an actual object, not bad data, as it appears on several of the black and white frames in both left and right camera views. Nor was it probably an artifact. There are several tiny scraps scattered about the landing site, and from their colors, they seem to be nothing more than debris from the lander. This thing was different.