Veins, not Flowers, on Mars
January 18th, 2013 |
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NASA’s Curiosity rover is preparing to drill for the first time, into what appears to be sedimentary rock criss-crossed by mineral-filled veins. Back in September last year the Mars Science Laboratory carried by the rover found a rocky outcrop on the wall of Gale Crater that was full of a crusty [...]
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A River Runs Through…Gale Crater
September 27th, 2012 |
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It’s one thing to spot stuff from orbit above an alien world, quite another to get in close. Earlier Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery of Gale Crater, now home to NASA’s Curiosity rover, had shown signs of what appeared to be something akin to an ‘alluvial fan’ spreading downwards from the crater rim. It was extremely [...]
Keep reading »Old Briny: Mars, water, and the search for life
August 8th, 2011 |
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Let’s get something clear right away, Mars has lots of water on and close to its surface. Over the years we’ve seen an increasing number of measurements and discoveries that indicate very significant reservoirs of martian water. The catch, and there is a big one, is that this water is frozen. It’s not surprising; Mars [...]
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