NASA Curiosity Rover Spots A Strange Flower-Like Object On Mars
Also referred to as diagenetic crystal clusters -- essentially recombination of minerals -- it consists of three-dimensional crystal clusters. It is actually made of salts called sulfates. The structure is smaller than a penny.
The Curiosity rover took a picture of a rather strange looking flower-like object on the red planet this week.
NASA
Also Read: NASA Curiosity Rover Has Found Unknown Organic Molecules On Mars
Reported first by ScienceAlert, the object that looked like a delicate organic structure could be igniting hopes of life on the planet (after all we¡¯ve already seen water to be present on Mars), however, the team behind the rover has sadly confirmed that it isn¡¯t really a flower. But water was responsible for its formation.
Abigail Fraeman, Curiosity Rover¡¯s deputy project scientist clarified on her Twitter handle that this shape is actually a mineral formation that¡¯s formed by minerals precipitating from water.
(2/3) We've seen structures like these before, most prominently all the way back at Pahrump Hills. There, the features were made of salts called sulfates. https://t.co/nzXxQvHug0https://t.co/iziQFDGiLC pic.twitter.com/kwusstN5tu
¡ª Abigail Fraeman (@abbyfrae) February 26, 2022
Also referred to as diagenetic crystal clusters -- essentially recombination of minerals -- it consists of three-dimensional crystal clusters. It is actually made of salts called sulfates. The structure is smaller than a penny.
Also referred to as concretion, structures like these are usually embedded within a rock that probably eroded away over time. The clusters however are known to be erosion-resistant.
The image was captured using Curiosity¡¯s Mars Hand lens Imager dubbed MAHLI that managed to take such detailed macro shots. This surprisingly isn¡¯t the first flower-like object spotted on the red planet.
NASA
Also Read: NASA Shares Pic Of Earth-Like Clouds On Mars, Captured By Curiosity Rover
In 2013, Curiosity captured another flower-like structure. In fact, even the Spirit rover managed to spot what looked like a cauliflower-shaped structure (hey, at least it has a flower in its name!)
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