Mars rover has new pet rock named Dwayne

By Dean Murray via SWNS

A Mars rover has made a friend - called Dwayne.

NASA's Perseverance explorer reported picking up a small rock on its wheel on Wednesday (May 29).

Perseverance posted online "Hi, little fella. Looks like I've picked up another rock friend that my operations team has named Dwayne."

Amusingly, the robot's online report of the incident led to some inter-rover humor, as the NASA Curiosity Rover responded on social media "Dwayne… the rock… I get it," along with a nerd face emoji, in reference to movie beefcake Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Shooting a reply back, Perseverance deadpanned "Am I missing something? It's a nice name for a rock…".

Other X (formerly Twitter) users joined in the fun, with one commenting "If you pick up a Stone, you could make it Oliver or Emma!", while another added, "I love seeing rovers talk to each other".

Perseverance added: "My wheels pick up rocks from time to time. They're harmless and will eventually fall out as I drive around.

"Until then, it’s nice to have a companion with me."

The Mars rovers Perseverance and Curiosity are exploring the Martian surface to study its geology, climate, and potential signs of past life.

They are collecting samples and conducting experiments to prepare for future human missions.