NASA finds evidence of drinkable water on Mars
8 June Sky News
Nasa scientists say their Opportunity rover has made new discoveries
about early water on Mars which may have been drinkable.
The unmanned solar-powered vehicle, described as "arthritic" as it
nears 10 years since its launch, has just analysed what may be its
oldest rock ever, known as Esperance 6.It contains evidence that
potentially life-supporting water once flowed in abundance, leaving clay
minerals behind."
This is powerful evidence that water interacted with this rock and
changed its chemistry, changed its mineralogy in a dramatic way," said
principal investigator Steve Squyres of Cornell University.
He described the research as "some of the most important" of the
decade long mission because it showcases a very different chemistry than
most of the previous discoveries about water on Mars, which is now quite
dry.Scientists believe that a lot of water once flowed through the rocks
through some sort of fracture, leaving an unusually high concentration
of clay.
The analysis reveals traces of a what may have been a drinkable type
of water that dates to the first billion years of Martian history.
The clay rocks were forming under a more neutral pH, before
conditions became more harsh and water more acidic, Dr Squyres said.The
rover's rock abrasion tool, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and
microscopic imager provided the details to scientists, who can learn
about the planet's history without bringing its rocks to
Earth.Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit launched in 2003 and landed
in January 2004 for what was initially meant to be a three-month
exploration.Both discovered evidence of wet environments on ancient
Mars." What Opportunity has mostly discovered evidence for was sulphuric
acid," Dr Squyres told reporters, outlining the major difference
detected in the Esperance rock's formation."This is water you could
drink," he said. |