As if it were a flower-shaped coral, NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered a very peculiar microscopic mineral formation. The Curiosity team confirmed that it was a ‘diagenetic crystal cluster’ , which NASA JPL experts suggest may have been formed by minerals that precipitated from water.
This image was taken using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a microscopic-viewing tool for imaging minerals, textures, and structures in rocks and soils at scales smaller than the diameter of a human hair; that is, it is like “the rover’s version of the magnifying glass that geologists often carry with them into the field.”
Curiosity merged six images to complete the picture of a tiny microscopic formation that looks like either a flower or an organism (a Martian Zen garden, according to many Twitter users), but is actually created from delicate mineral crystals.
This type of formation of diagenetic crystals (groups of three-dimensional crystals, created by a combination of minerals), had already been observed previously by the Curiosity rover. According to previous evidence, this class of formations that sprout in different directions, would have been embedded within a rock, which would erode over time; these groups of minerals, however, appear to be resistant to erosion. Thanks to this characteristic, -being resistant to erosion-, they remain on the dusty surface of the red planet, according to NASA scientists.
On top of similar structures found in the past, flower-like deposits have been found on Mars in the Pahrump Hills and made of salts called sulfates.
The tiny mineral formation is a reminder of Mars’ watery past, a key area of study that could help scientists determine whether the now inhospitable planet was once capable of supporting microbial life.
The Curiosity rover is studying Gale Crater, a 155 km diameter dry lake bed located in the Aeolis Quadrangle and includes the Aeolis Mons mountain (also known as Mount Sharp) which rises 5.5 km above the crater floor. .
NASA originally chose the crater as an exploration and research site for Curiosity, which landed on Mars in November 2011, due to evidence of the presence of water in the distant past.
It may not be an actual flower, but the mineral structure is particularly pretty and provides scientists with much-needed information about the Martian surface.
Mars is a very different place than Earth , but images like these show some similarities between the two planets.
With 80kg of science instruments on board, the Curiosity rover weighs a total of 899kg and is powered by a plutonium fuel source. Curiosity, which was launched (on November 26, 2011 from Cape Canaveral in Florida) on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft, measures 2.9 meters long by 2.7 meters wide by 2.2 meters high and, since its landing on August 6, 2012, it has already traveled about 18 kilometers from Mars. Due to its success, since it has found the old bed of a river where liquid water used to flow among other things, the mission has been extended indefinitely.
Abigail Fraeman, Curiosity Project Associate Scientist, tweeted the image along with a penny for scale comparison.
Reference: NASA JPL-Caltech
