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NASA's Curiosity rover discovers evidence of silica-rich volcanic materials on Mars
| NH Voice | - |
While speaking to The Christian Science Monitor,
the study lead author, Richard V. Morris, a geochemist at NASA's
Johnson Space Center, said that scientists were aware since long that
the Red Planet possessed basaltic volcanoes, with fluid lava laying ...
NASA's Curiosity rover discovers evidence of silica-rich volcanic materials on Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover has found proof of silica-rich volcanic
materials on Mars. The discovery has come up as a surprise to scientists
and has changed the earlier thinking about the volcanic processes of
the planet.
Curiosity has discovered high concentrations of a mineral, known as tridymite (SiO2), in a sedimentary rock in Gale Crater. SiO2 is a cousin of quartz that crystallizes when come across low pressures and severe temperatures.
The formation of high-silica magmas takes place under very different circumstances from the much more common basaltic magmas, thus this discovery has come up as the first mineralogical proof of such kind of super-explosive volcanoes on the Red Planet.
Since 2012, the Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale Crater, the
site where it stumbled upon the evidence of environment’s friendliness
to life, such as clues of a series of long-lasting lakes.
Last year, the rover explored an area, known as Marias Pass, using its CheMin instrument that shot X-rays into a mudstone. The researchers analyzed the way in which the X-rays scattered and found the existence of tridymite.
While speaking to The Christian Science Monitor, the study lead author, Richard V. Morris, a geochemist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said that scientists were aware since long that the Red Planet possessed basaltic volcanoes, with fluid lava laying flat to the ground, just the volcanoes we see in Hawaii on Earth.
However, the formation of tridymite has taken place in silicic volcanism, present on the United States’ west coast at volcanoes like at Mount St. Helens.
Dr. Morris said that the magma feeding such volcanoes is very rich in silica and melts at a quite high temperature. The high-silica magma is extremely thick and slow-moving and forms within the volcano, with more and more pressure, till the time a critical point is reached wherein the volcano eruption takes place.
A report published in Pddnet revealed, "Opportunity recently collected a sweeping panorama from near the western end of this east-west valley. The vista shows an area where the mission investigated evidence about how water altered the ancient rocks and, beyond that, the wide floor of Endeavour Crater and the crater's eastern rim about 14 miles (22 kilometers) away."
Marathon Valley lured the mission because researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had mapped water-related clay minerals at this area of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover team chose the valley's informal name because Opportunity's arrival at this part of the rim coincided closely with the rover surpassing marathon-footrace distance in total driving since its January 2004 Mars landing.
"What we usually do to investigate material that's captured our interest is find a bedrock exposure of it and use the RAT," Squyres said. "What we didn't realize until we took a close-enough look is that this stuff has been so pervasively altered, it's not bedrock. There's no solid bedrock you could grind with the RAT."
"Calling all surveyors, teachers, farmers and technicians. NASA wants you to step up and volunteer for service on Mars. Enjoy the spectacular sunsets. Explore rocky red canyons. Grow fruits and vegetables inside a dome. These are just some of the exciting activities that await you on the Red Planet according to a series of propaganda-style posters from NASA," according to a news report published by CNET.
The posters make the Mars life look pretty glamorous. There's the night-shift worker standing proud on one of Mars' moons. There's a spacesuit-clad explorer rappelling down a cliffside. A teacher in silhouette leads a group students through an awe-inspiring alien landscape. Sign me up.
NASA originally commissioned the posters back in 2009 for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, but they are now available online for anybody to enjoy, download or print off for non-commercial use. The posters are in good company with other NASA efforts, including these stylish space-tourism posters. I hear Jupiter is beautiful this time of year, assuming you can get some vacation time off from your Mars job.
According to a story published on the topic by CSMonitor, "High-silica magmas form under very different circumstances from the much more common basaltic magmas, so this presents the first mineralogical evidence of these kind of super-explosive volcanoes on Mars."
The Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012, where it has found evidence of environments friendly to life, including signs of a series of long-lasting lakes. Curiosity explored a region called Marias Pass last year and used its CheMin instrument that shot X-rays into a mudstone. The researchers studied the way the X-rays scattered and determined the existence of tridymite.
Richard V. Morris, the study's lead author and a geochemist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, tells The Christian Science Monitor that scientists have known for decades that Mars had basaltic volcanoes, with fluid lava that lays flat to the ground, similar to the volcanoes found on Earth in Hawaii.
Curiosity has discovered high concentrations of a mineral, known as tridymite (SiO2), in a sedimentary rock in Gale Crater. SiO2 is a cousin of quartz that crystallizes when come across low pressures and severe temperatures.
The formation of high-silica magmas takes place under very different circumstances from the much more common basaltic magmas, thus this discovery has come up as the first mineralogical proof of such kind of super-explosive volcanoes on the Red Planet.
Last year, the rover explored an area, known as Marias Pass, using its CheMin instrument that shot X-rays into a mudstone. The researchers analyzed the way in which the X-rays scattered and found the existence of tridymite.
While speaking to The Christian Science Monitor, the study lead author, Richard V. Morris, a geochemist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said that scientists were aware since long that the Red Planet possessed basaltic volcanoes, with fluid lava laying flat to the ground, just the volcanoes we see in Hawaii on Earth.
However, the formation of tridymite has taken place in silicic volcanism, present on the United States’ west coast at volcanoes like at Mount St. Helens.
Dr. Morris said that the magma feeding such volcanoes is very rich in silica and melts at a quite high temperature. The high-silica magma is extremely thick and slow-moving and forms within the volcano, with more and more pressure, till the time a critical point is reached wherein the volcano eruption takes place.
A report published in Pddnet revealed, "Opportunity recently collected a sweeping panorama from near the western end of this east-west valley. The vista shows an area where the mission investigated evidence about how water altered the ancient rocks and, beyond that, the wide floor of Endeavour Crater and the crater's eastern rim about 14 miles (22 kilometers) away."
Marathon Valley lured the mission because researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had mapped water-related clay minerals at this area of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover team chose the valley's informal name because Opportunity's arrival at this part of the rim coincided closely with the rover surpassing marathon-footrace distance in total driving since its January 2004 Mars landing.
"What we usually do to investigate material that's captured our interest is find a bedrock exposure of it and use the RAT," Squyres said. "What we didn't realize until we took a close-enough look is that this stuff has been so pervasively altered, it's not bedrock. There's no solid bedrock you could grind with the RAT."
"Calling all surveyors, teachers, farmers and technicians. NASA wants you to step up and volunteer for service on Mars. Enjoy the spectacular sunsets. Explore rocky red canyons. Grow fruits and vegetables inside a dome. These are just some of the exciting activities that await you on the Red Planet according to a series of propaganda-style posters from NASA," according to a news report published by CNET.
The posters make the Mars life look pretty glamorous. There's the night-shift worker standing proud on one of Mars' moons. There's a spacesuit-clad explorer rappelling down a cliffside. A teacher in silhouette leads a group students through an awe-inspiring alien landscape. Sign me up.
NASA originally commissioned the posters back in 2009 for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, but they are now available online for anybody to enjoy, download or print off for non-commercial use. The posters are in good company with other NASA efforts, including these stylish space-tourism posters. I hear Jupiter is beautiful this time of year, assuming you can get some vacation time off from your Mars job.
According to a story published on the topic by CSMonitor, "High-silica magmas form under very different circumstances from the much more common basaltic magmas, so this presents the first mineralogical evidence of these kind of super-explosive volcanoes on Mars."
The Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012, where it has found evidence of environments friendly to life, including signs of a series of long-lasting lakes. Curiosity explored a region called Marias Pass last year and used its CheMin instrument that shot X-rays into a mudstone. The researchers studied the way the X-rays scattered and determined the existence of tridymite.
Richard V. Morris, the study's lead author and a geochemist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, tells The Christian Science Monitor that scientists have known for decades that Mars had basaltic volcanoes, with fluid lava that lays flat to the ground, similar to the volcanoes found on Earth in Hawaii.
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