Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – NASA’s robot, Curiosity, saw a row of minerals shaped like coral on the surface of the Planet Mars. The object is actually a microscopic mineral.
It is possible that the object captured in the picture in the Gale Crater area was made of water dripping through rock billions of years ago.
Microscopic images of Martian sand taken with the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a tool for imaging minerals, textures, and structures in rock and soil at scales smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
The Curiosity team confirmed the coral-like objects were ‘diagenetic crystal clusters’. According to NASA experts, the object was formed by minerals that precipitated from the water, as quoted from the Daily Mail, Tuesday (1/3/2022).
Although it looks big in the picture, it is actually smaller than a penny. If you look at the shape, it consists of three-dimensional crystal groups made of a combination of minerals.
NASA scientists say the findings could tell them more about the structure of the Red Planet’s soil. As well as how the planet looks, including the long-lost stream of water.
Curiosity is currently studying Gale Crater, a dry lake bed that is 96 miles in diameter and includes Mount Aeolis Mons which rises 18,000 feet above the crater floor.
NASA initially chose the crater as the site of Curiosity, which landed on Mars in November 2011. Because this crater according to research holds evidence of the existence of water in the past.
Abigail Fraeman, Curiosity project scientist, explains the unusual formation. He described the image as tiny fine structures formed by minerals that precipitated from the water.
This isn’t the first time the rover has seen this formation, which is likely made of salts called sulfates. If this is the same as the previously found version.
(roy/roy)
–
