[ad_1]
“Blueberry” rocks found on Mars may contain water, study finds similar to hydrohematite samples found on Earth in the 19th century
- Hydrohematite is light on iron, but contains hydroxyl which results in water being stored in rocks
- Scientists believe this is the type of pebble found on Mars
- The pebbles, or “blueberries,” were identified by NASA’s Curiosity in 2004 which labeled them as a hematite rock, rich in iron and devoid of water.
- However, the study suggests it was misidentified because the rover lacks the technology to identify hydrohematite.
- The study found that Martian rocks formed under the same conditions as those on Earth
- Hydrohematite is also red in color, which would explain the landscape on Mars
Rocks that have accumulated dust at the Smithsonian Institute since the 19th century may hold clues to finding water on Mars.
A hydrohematite, discovered by the German ore carrier August Breithaupt in 1843, is being reexamined by scientists at Penn State University, who believe that the earth’s rock has properties similar to those of Mars nicknamed “blueberries”.
Hydrohematite is light on iron, but contains hydroxyl, a hydrogen and oxygen group which results in water being stored in rocks.
The so-called “blueberries” on Mars were spotted by NASA’s Curiosity in 2004 which identified them as hematite because it lacks the technology to identify hydrohematite.
Peter J. Heaney, professor of geosciences at Penn State, said in a statement: “On Earth, these spherical structures are hydrohematite, so it seems reasonable to me to speculate that the bright red pebbles on Mars are hydrohematite. . “
Scroll down for videos
A hydrohematite, discovered by the German ore carrier August Breithaupt in 1843, is being reexamined by scientists at Penn State University, who believe that the earth’s rock has properties similar to those of Mars nicknamed “blueberries”. Hydrohematite is light on iron, but contains hydroxyl, a group of hydrogen and oxygen which results in water being stored in rocks
The research began when Si Athena Chen, a geoscience doctoral student at Heaney, got her hands on various ancient rock samples with a label indicating they contained water.
Chen performed several tests on 19th century rock, including infrared spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, a more sensitive and refined method than that used when the sample was first described by Breithaupt in 1843.
As a result of the work, Chen discovered that the minerals were low in iron and contained hydroxyl which replaced some of the iron atoms.
“I was trying to see what the natural conditions were for forming iron oxides,” Chen said.
The so-called blueberries on Mars were spotted by NASA’s Curiosity in 2004 which identified them as hematite because it lacks the technology to identify hydrohematite
“What were the temperatures and pH needed to crystallize these hydrated phases and could I find a way to synthesize them?” ”
She discovered that at temperatures below 300 degrees Fahrenheit, in an aqueous and alkaline environment, hydrohematite can precipitate, forming sedimentary layers.
“Much of the surface of Mars apparently appeared when the surface was wetter and iron oxides precipitated out of that water,” Heaney said.
“But the existence of hydrohematite on Mars is still speculative.”
Chen’s experiments revealed that the natural hydrohematite contained 3.6 to 7.8 percent by weight of water.
“Mars is called the red planet because of its color, which comes from iron compounds in Martian dirt,” the team said in a statement.
Depending on the amount of hydrated iron minerals found on Mars, researchers believe there could be a substantial supply of water there.
“Mars is called the red planet because of its color, which comes from iron compounds in Martian dirt,” the team said in a statement.
“The presence of hydrohematite on Mars would provide further evidence that Mars was once a watery planet and that water is the only compound necessary for all life on Earth.”
[ad_2]
Source link