[표지로 읽는 과학] The identity of the rocks collected from Mars: Dong-A Science

This week, science covered the surface of Mars photographed by NASA’s “Perseverance” rover, which has been exploring since February last year. The wheel marks left by the moving rover on the Martian red earth above the pit are evident.

The three holes drilled in a row are traces of Perseverance’s quarrying of rocks. This week an article was published in Science analyzing the results of Perseverance’s exploration of the crater. With a diameter of 45 km, the crater is an area where water is estimated to have flowed 3.5 billion years ago. For example, it is considered an area with a high probability of finding traces of life because microorganisms exist on Earth in a crater-like environment.

A team of researchers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) discovered that it is olivine by analyzing the structure of the rock taken from the crater, for example by measuring X-ray fluorescence. underground it went through several cooling phases to form rock layers. The research team also revealed that the rock had traces of deformation by reacting with water.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a research team from Caltech’s Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences announced that the crater floor is made up of two layers, ‘Maaz’ and ‘Theta’ as an example. The Maaz Formation makes up most of the crater floor and features various structures, such as rock ledges or ridges several meters high. On the other hand, the theta layer is a structure in which layers with a height of several tens of centimeters are stacked on top of each other. The research team analyzed that the magnesium carbonate boundary of the theta layer was created by the interaction of carbon dioxide with water.

Two rock samples collected from the crater as an example from Perseverance were stored in test tubes for transport to Earth. NASA plans to send a probe in early 2030 to bring rock samples to Earth for research.

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