Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Mars Rover: Water-bearing Minerals in Rocks Found

Hydration Map, Based on Mastcam Spectra, for 'Knorr' Rock Target

March 18, 2013

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has seen evidence of water-bearing minerals in rocks near where it had already found clay minerals inside a drilled rock.

Last week, the rover's science team announced that analysis of powder from a drilled mudstone rock on Mars indicates past environmental conditions that were favorable for microbial life. Additional findings presented today (March 18) at a news briefing at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, suggest those conditions extended beyond the site of the drilling.

Using infrared-imaging capability of a camera on the rover and an instrument that shoots neutrons into the ground to probe for hydrogen, researchers have found more hydration of minerals near the clay-bearing rock than at locations Curiosity visited earlier.

The rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) can also serve as a mineral-detecting and hydration-detecting tool, reported Jim Bell of Arizona State University, Tempe. "Some iron-bearing rocks and minerals can be detected and mapped using the Mastcam's near-infrared filters."

More - Link >>> http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-099&cid=release_2013-099

Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA.

Related Blog Posts ---

NASA: Primitive Life on Ancient Mars Possible (2013 March 12):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/03/nasa-primitive-life-on-ancient-mars.html

 

Curiosity Rover Drills into Mars  (2013 Feb. 10):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/02/curiosity-rover-drills-into-mars.html

 

Ancient Mars Streambed Found by Curiosity Rover (2012 Sept. 27):

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/09/ancient-mars-streambed-found-by.html


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