NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Signs Of Volcanic Activity On Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover has been doing a great job ever since it landed on the surface of the red planet. The rover has now discovered evidence of volcanic activity on the surface of planet Mars.
Curiosity rover bombarded the surface of Mars with X-rays to dig up the mineral evidence that suggests that the red planet must have had an explosive volcanic past. The mineral belongs to an explosive type of volcano, similar to the material that is found on Earth.
The study findings indicate that the red planet might have had a dynamic history and there could be a complex process that might have taken place beneath the surface of the planet. According to study lead author Richard V. Morris of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Mars might be different on the inside that researchers usually think it is.
Curiosity rover, which has been finding the evidence of life-friendly environment and conditions since 2012, reached the base of Mt. Sharp in 2014. The sedimentary layers of rock of the 3-mile-high mound can be analyzed by geologists to figure out the anatomy of Mars.
The rover made another surprising discovery in a region called Marias Pass. In 2015, the rover discovered rocks with high levels of silica. It is a chemical that results out of an interaction between silicon and oxygen.
At the same location, Curiosity drilled a hole to derive a powdered sample. Next, it analyzed X-ray scattering pattern to determine the structure of the compound. The presence of a compound called tridymite was confirmed, which never happened before.
The same compound is also present on Earth, usually in high temperature and low pressure areas. It is typically found in rocks derived from explosive volcanoes, including St. Helens.
The complete details of the findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
