In search of signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered many fascinating information about the Red Planet. It landed at Jezero Crater in 2020 and has been exploring the area ever since. In its latest discovery, the rover has found that the crater’s floor, which once hosted a lake billions of years ago, is composed of volcanic rocks rather than sedimentary rocks, as previously believed. The rover began examining the floor in the spring of 2021, after which scientists studied the data. It was found that the floor was formed from two types of igneous rocks. While one type formed from magma deep underground, the other was the result of volcanic activity on the surface.
according Igneous rocks collected from Mars may tell when Lake Jezero was present, says Caltech’s Ken Farley, Perseverance’s project scientist. “We know this was more recent than igneous crater floor rocks,” Farley said. He said the rocks will also help answer some key questions about Mars’ climate and conditions on it.
Igneous rocks are not considered ideal for preserving ancient signs of life. Sedimentary rocks are suitable for storing such traces but it is difficult to determine the age of such rocks. The Perseverance rover has now begun drilling sedimentary rocks and collecting samples. these are the conclusions published in a paper science.
Years ago, the formation of a rock filled with the mineral olivine was observed by the orbiters of Mars. The formation is spread over an area of 70,000 square kilometres. Scientists have come up with various theories to explain the formation of volcanic eruptions, and meteorite impacts, among others. In a new study, researchers have found that olivine formed underground from slowly cooling magma after which it was exposed to erosion over time.
Persistence scraped the surface of the rock to uncover its structure and studied the patch. The researchers then used the rover’s Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) to determine the size of the olivine grains, which were found to be larger than expected. Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, “This large crystal size and its similar composition to a distinctive rock texture require a very slow cooling environment. Therefore, most likely, it is at JZero.” The magma was not erupting at the surface.” he is the author of second study published in science,
