Curiouser And Curiouser: NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Piles Of Silica On Mars

NPR ^ | 12/18/2015 | Bill Chappell

[BenLurkin]

In a finding that suggests "considerable water activity" on Mars, NASA says its Curiosity rover has found very high concentrations of silica on the red planet. The agency says it also found "a mineral named tridymite, rare on Earth and never seen before on Mars."

The discoveries took place on Mount Sharp, where Curiosity drilled into a rock called "Buckskin" to find the tridymite, and where it used its "ChemCam" laser to measure high silica levels. The odd findings led researchers to take the rare step of ordering Curiosity to retrace its path to learn more.

Explanations for the high silica levels "all require considerable water activity," says Jens Frydenvang of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Copenhagen. He adds, "and on Earth high silica deposits are often associated with environments that provide excellent support for microbial life."

[BigEdLB]

Looks like parts of New Mexico near Gallup

[NCC-1701]

There are more sharp edged peaks in this one picture than in any pics I’ve seen taken on the lunar surface. Pretty though even without any tress or shrubbery.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Isn’t “silica” another name for “sand?”

[Lazamataz]

We need to terraform Mars, then pollute it until the Greenies freak.

Or would they be called Reddies.

[StormEye]

The Arab/Muslims should love Mars.

[Mannaggia l'America]

We need to terraform Mars, then pollute it until the Greenies freak.

Wouldn't greening Mars technically be polluting it?

[CTyank]

NO KILL I

[Mastador1]

At one time tridymite was considered rare, but that was before widespread testing of many different volcanic rocks turned out to contain lots of small to microscopic crystals of tridymite. Its wide spread distribution in certain types of rocks would require an abundance rating of at least common, although its identification is not easy.

[trebb]

I would guess that with all that water activity, there is a lush, underground habitat on Mars. The Morlocks live there and raise Eloi as slaves and sources of food. Once in a while, they spot one of our rovers and plant things in their paths as a joke.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[BenLurkin]

Leaked NASA photo shows one of the Martian Morlocks and Eloi captives....

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker.

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[trebb]

Mmmmmmm - Mary Ann!

She was always my favorite, along with Sky King's niece Penny and Elly May Clampett...

[brivette]

highly plausible..

[brivette]

Arizona?

[brivette]

at least he’s not dead...

[SunkenCiv]

The big one:

http://www.hotflick.net/f/v/?q=3448037.KAnWnSVViysaIvd.jpg

[SunkenCiv]

• Red planet's hue due to meteors, not water

  "There is something of a paradox about Mars," agrees Joshua Bandfield of Arizona State University in Tempe. His team recently showed that the planet has no large deposits of carbonates, which should have formed if giant pools of water had persisted on the surface. Bandfield suggests that liquid water must have occasionally burst out of the ground, carving channels and gullies, but that it quickly froze again in the frigid Martian climate.

• Red Planet's Ancient Equator Located
• New Theory: Catastrophe Created Mars' Moons
• Mars moon emerges from the dark [Phobos]

[SunkenCiv]

Mars gullies likely contain ‘no water’, study says
December 21, 2015 by Pascale Mollard-Chenebenoit
http://phys.org/news/2015-12-mars-gullies.html
http://cdn.phys.org/newman/csz/news/800/2015/thisnasajplu.jpg