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NASA's Curiosity robot discovers the "greatest quantities of clay" ever found on Mars as scientists search for new evidence of water and life on the red planet there are billions of dollars # 39; years
- Large amounts of clay have been found in soil samples from the Martian surface
- Two drilled cores were collected and analyzed and named "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie".
- Clay has already been found, but never in such large quantities, says NASA
- This landmark discovery was made in the region, rightly known as the "clay-based unit," on the slope at the foot of Mount Sharp.
Clay discovered on Mars that formed when the soil is mixed with water can give crucial clues to life that once lived on the planet, now barren, billions of years ago.
NASA's six-wheeled Curiosity rover discovered the material on the Martian surface in advance – but never in such large quantities.
Curiosity marked the occasion with an impressive selfie via its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera placed at the end of the robotic arm of the rover.
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NASA's six-wheeled robot has already found clay on the Martian surface, but never before in such large quantities. It was also marked by an impressive selfie of the Curiosity rover via its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera located at the end of the robotic arm of the rover (photo).
The capital discovery was made in an area known as the "clay unit" located on the slope at the foot of Mount Sharp, a 4.5 km high mountain.
NASA's reaction propulsion laboratory, which runs the mission, said in a statement: "Clay often forms in the water, which is essential for life.
"Curiosity explores Mount Sharp to see if it had the conditions to support life billions of years ago."
Curiosity emigrated to the area after spending time studying Vera Rubin Ridge, north of its current location.
Since he arrived at the foot of the mountain in 155 km wide crater (155 km) in April, he took two samples while drilling on the planet.
These two targets are called "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie" and are the 20th and 21st samples collected by Curiosity on Mars.
The rover now climbs slowly into the mountain and will study the clay in more detail to determine if the Martian conditions could withstand life.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, reported that drift was "the largest amount of clay minerals ever found during the mission".
Since he arrived at the foot of the mountain in 155 km wide crater (155 km) in April, he took two samples while drilling on the planet. These two targets are "Aberlady" (photo) and "Kilmarie". These are the 20th and 21st samples taken by Curiosity on Mars.
The Curiosity selfie is made up of 57 snapshots taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager imager (MAHLI) from the rover. The images were then assembled into a single panorama. This is not the first selfie to be sent back from Mars by Curiosity because the robot has returned one each year successfully since arriving on Mars in 2012. In the photo, selfie from the beginning of this year.
Curiosity analyzed the samples in its internal lab with its CheMin chemistry and mineralogy instrument and found small traces of hematite – a plentiful iron oxide mineral on the planet.
This was also at its previous location in Vera Rubin Ridge.
The spectacular selfie of the surface was published by NASA on the Curiosity rover's Twitter page itself.
The drill marks are visible next to the left wheels of the vehicle, which are "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie".
The evidence provided by the rover suggests that there was once water on Mars, a discovery that adds to a growing belief that liquid water has already survived on the planet.
Scientists say more research is needed to understand how water interacts with rocks and affects its geology.
The Curiosity selfie is made up of 57 snapshots taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager imager (MAHLI) from the rover.
The images were then assembled into a single panorama.
This is not the first selfie to be sent back from Mars by Curiosity because the robot has returned one each year successfully since arriving on Mars in 2012.
The first was taken on October 31, 2012 after 84 days of surface and consisted of 55 separate images taken by the same camera.
Such images allow NASA engineers and scientists to check the health of the rover and see if it is affected by the thick red dust of the Martian surface.
WHAT IS THE CURIOSITY ROVER ROVER AND WHAT HAS IT REACHED TO THIS DAY?
The Mars Curiosity rover was launched from Cape Canaveral, an American Air Force station in Florida on November 26, 2011.
After embarking on a journey of 350 million dollars (560 million km), the research vehicle of 1.8 billion pounds (2.5 billion dollars) sits at only 2.4 km from the planned landing point.
After a successful landing on August 6, 2012, the rover traveled about 18 km.
It was launched aboard the spacecraft Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and the rover accounted for 23% of the mass of the mission.
With 80 kg (180 lbs) of scientific instruments on board, the mobile weighs a total of 899 kg and is powered by a plutonium fuel source.
The rover is 2.9 meters long by 2.7 meters wide and 2.2 meters high.
The Curiosity Rover on Mars was originally intended to be a two-year mission to gather information to determine if the planet could withstand life, have liquid water, study the climate and the geology of Mars had been active for more than 2 years. 000 days.
The mobile was originally intended to be a two-year mission to gather information to determine if the planet could withstand life, have liquid water, study the climate and geology of Mars.
Because of its success, the mission has been extended indefinitely and has been active for more than 2,000 days.
The rover has several scientific instruments, including the mastcam, consisting of two cameras and can take high resolution images and videos in real colors.
Until now, the robot of the size of a car has encountered an old riverbed where liquid water ran. Shortly after, he had also discovered that billions of years ago, a nearby area known as Yellowknife Bay was part of a lake that supported microbial life.
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