NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars in 2014 and was initially slated for a 90-day mission. Ten years and 24.07 miles later

NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars in 2014 and was initially slated for a 90-day mission. Ten years and 24.07 miles later (that's pretty far for a slow-moving rover), it's still fully operational and conducting science experiments on the Red Planet.

An odd-looking bit of rock mysteriously appeared in front of Opportunity rover, waiting out the Martian winter, taken by Opportunity Mars rover on Sol (Martian day) 3540 or January 8 Earth time, according to NASA’s website.

Left: a photo taken 3528 days after the Opportunity rover arrival to Mars. Right: the exact same spot 12 Mars days later. Notice the difference? NASA JPL scientists did too: "It's about the size of a jelly doughnut. It was a total surprise, we were like 'wait a second, that wasn't there before, it can't be right. Oh my god! It wasn't there before!' We were absolutely startled."

An odd-looking bit of rock mysteriously appeared in front of Opportunity rover in the beginning of January as the rover, waiting out the Martian winter, has not moved since the end of November, according to NASA. The rock suddenly appeared on photographs taken by Opportunity Mars rover on Sol (Martian day) 3540 or January 8 Earth time, according to NASA’s website. Photographs previously taken on Sol 3536 showed no trace of the rock. The body was named 'Pinnacle Island', according to Opportunity’s Pancam database descriptions.

Ageing Mars rover Opportunity has found evidence that the conditions for ancient life once existed on the Red planet.

Above NASA Photo: Preliminary interpretation points to

clay mineral content  due to intensive alteration by water.

Mars Rover Opprotunity has been wandering on Mars since 2004, and it is still producing useful science.
Its remarkable longevity has astounded and delighted Nasa officials, who initially expected that it would last for just 90 Martian days. Instead it is continuing to roll along the surface, 37 times longer than anybody thought it would.

Its latest discovery is one of its most exciting, Nasa officials said: an area of rock which was clearly weathered by large amounts of water, indicating that the conditions for life once existed on the planet.
The exposed  rock ( called "Esperance") is unlike any the rover has previously found, fractured and weathered by conditions that were "possibly favorable for life", Nasa said. The new pictures were taken at Cape York, an area on the rim of the massive Endeavour crater.