Could 1—After nearly 12 years probing Mars, the Curiosity rover continues to be making discoveries which have scientists, effectively, curious.
The rover not too long ago detected higher-than-usual quantities of manganese in rock deposits in an historical lakebed on the crimson planet, utilizing a particular high-tech digicam that Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory helped develop.
On Earth, manganese turns into enriched due to oxygen within the environment and this course of is usually sped up by the presence of microbes. In distinction, oxygen is extraordinarily low on Mars and there is nonetheless little proof of life in its historical past.
“On Mars, we do not have proof for all times, and the mechanism to supply oxygen in Mars’s historical environment is unclear, so how the manganese oxide was fashioned and concentrated right here is basically puzzling,” lab scientist Patrick Gasda stated in an announcement.
The findings have been printed within the Journal of Geophysical Analysis: Planets.
This can be a growing story. Examine again for extra particulars.
