Clay-rification ahead: NASA’s mars curiosity rover finds caches of muddy soil
PTI, Jun 1, 2019, 12:27 PM IST
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has found the highest amounts of clay minerals ever found during its mission on the Red Planet, the US space agency said. The rover recently drilled two samples at rock targets called “Aberlady” and “Kilmarie” in a region of Mars called the “clay-bearing unit”.
Curiosity is exploring Mount Sharp to see if it had the conditions to support life billions of years ago. Clay often forms in water, which is essential for life.
The rover’s mineralogy instrument, called CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy), provided the first analyses of rock samples drilled in the clay-bearing unit. CheMin also found very little hematite, an iron oxide mineral that was abundant just to the north, on Vera Rubin Ridge.
Other than proof that there was a significant amount of water once in Gale Crater, what these new findings mean for the region is still up for debate, according to the US space agency.
It is likely that the rocks in the area formed as layers of mud in ancient lakes — something Curiosity also found lower on Mount Sharp, NASA said. Water interacted with sediment over time, leaving an abundance of clay in the rocks there, it said.
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