Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Mars Hid its Warm, Wet Crystals Underground


The search for any sign of life on Mars continues. In the latest update, a new data release from Curiosity’s Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) - essentially the rover’s portable X-ray diffraction lab - and published in a paper in Science, analyzes 20 different rock samples from various elevations of Mount Sharp, the mountain in the center of Gale Crater that Curiosity has been slowly climbing. In the paper, the researchers describe how the size of the crystals in those samples could help scientists determine where to look for evidence that life might have evolved on the Red Planet.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on Universe Today

Read more on:

Photo of Mars

Mars

Photo of wet crystals

wet crystals

Related news:

News photo

Article: NASA bets big on nuclear engines to cut journey times to Mars

News photo

Watch this bio-inspired Mars rover concept 'swim' through sand on curved wheels (video)

News photo

Mars's manganese 'bathtub ring' reveals ancient ocean timeline and its potential for life