Mars Rover Opportunity Finds 'Rich' Clay Deposits

[Eugene]

Source: Discovery News

Mars Rover Opportunity Finds 'Rich' Clay Deposits

Analysis by Irene Klotz
Fri Dec 21, 2012 06:33 PM ET

NASA's long-lived Mars rover Opportunity that beat newcomer sister probe Curiosity to an area containing water-formed clay minerals, has found that the spot may be far richer than scientists first realized.

A new study looks at chemicals spotted by a Mars-orbiting spacecraft to conclude that Endeavour Crater, which Opportunity reached in August 2011 after a 1,000-plus day, 13-mile trek across the plains of Meridian, is flush with a variety of clays, which on Earth, form in the presence of water.

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Both found clear evidence that water has played a role in Mars' history, but the chemistry of the liquid was determined to be highly acidic, similar to battery acid, and not very friendly to life as we know it.

Clay minerals point to a different story, one involving a neutral water chemistry -- water you could drink, lead rover scientist Steve Squyres, with Cornell University, told reporters at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco this month.

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Read more: http://news.discovery.com/space/study-finds-more-clays-await-mars-rover-opportunity-121221.html

[darkangel218]

1. Is this the "big" story NASA was supposed to announce?

If not, what was it?

[Exen Trik]

2. Nah

That was something about organic compounds I think, but it ended up being less impressive when they looked at the data. "Organic" compounds exist everywhere so it was more about the types you find. Someone on their end got a bit too excited a bit too quickly.

Still a lot of great science coming out of this though.

[darkangel218]

3. Ahh i see.

Thanks

I was hopping they had found an organism of sorts.. Who knows, maybe they did but decided not to make it public. I'm pretty sure we don't know everything NASA knows

[mzteris]

4. and with the number of

hysterical uneducated rightwing fundamentalist @ssholes in this country, who can blame them?