Curiosity Rover Finds Rock Type That's Never Been Seen on Mars - Wired [fornadablog.blogspot.com]
[fornadablog.blogspot.com], Curiosity Rover Finds Rock Type That's Never Been Seen on Mars - Wired
After shooting it with lasers and X-rays, NASAâs Curiosity rover has determined that a rock nicknamed âJake Matijevicâ is of a variety that no other rover has ever spotted on Mars.
The rock, a highly fractionated alkalic rock type, is relatively well known to geologists since it is common in rift zones on Earth, such as volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands.
âThis is a rock type which had not been seen beforeâ by previous Mars rovers including Spirit and Opportunity, said Roger Weins, principle investigator for Curiosityâs ChemCam instrument, during a NASA press conference Oct. 11. It forms under relatively high pressure and often in the presence of water. While Curiosity is mostly focused on sedimentary rocks that could indicate the presence of past conditions for life, Matijevic is an igneous rock that likely formed about 5 miles under the Martian surface.
The rover had been investigating Matijevic mostly as an early test of the instruments on its arm, such as the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), which bombards a sample with X-rays to determine its chemical composition. Curiosity also used its ChemCam instrument to shoot the rock with more than 400 laser blasts, vaporizing microscopic amounts and then analyzing the resulting dust and plasma. This investigation showed that the rock contained a lot of elements such as silicon, aluminium, sodium, and potassium.
âThis was surprising because it differed from the composition from what we know of rocks on Mars,â said Edward Stolper, Curiosity science team co-investigator, during the conference.
Scientists think this rock formed in the interior of Mars when magma moved up through cooler rock. As the magma cooled, elements including nickel, iron, and magnesium crystallized out of it first, leaving behind a material rich in silicon, aluminum, sodium, and potassium, as well as a higher fraction of dissolved water. Though the rock was unusual, the Curiosity team was careful to point out that it was just one isolated sample and not to extrapolate too much about early Martian geology based on it.
Engineers also discussed the case of the mysterious plastic object that Curiosity had spotted several days ago while scooping bits of Martian soil. They concluded that it likely a bit of bonding material that fell off the rover or a piece of tubing that came off the descent stage and was recently blown off the probe. In either case, âitâs completely inconsequential to the roverâs functionâ and no further pieces have been seen, said engineer Chris Roumeliotis, the lead turret rover planner. Curiosity is continuing to go through its Martian dust rinse and repeat cycle to clean out its sample delivery instrument of any left-over contaminants from Earth.
Related Curiosity Rover Finds Rock Type That's Never Been Seen on Mars - Wired Issues
Question by gentlesoul: Medicine says "take with a full glass of water" how many ounces minimum is a full glass? This is a bedtime tablet. I drink lots of water during the day, but not before bed--for obvious reason. Thanks for answering. Best answer for Medicine says "take with a full glass of water" how many ounces minimum is a full glass?:
Answer by keekee Answer by Kraig P Answer by Love My Hubby Answer by ghouly05 Answer by pedroinfante49
8 oz is 1 cup, drink this min. amount. your welcome.
8 oz
8
They are usually referring to an 8 oz glass.
12onz. glass
Recommend Medicine says "take with a full glass of water" how many ounces minimum is a full glass? Articles
This is the inspirational tale of a small boy's mission to help those less fortunate than himself. Ryan was just six years old when he learnt that not everybody in the world has access to clean water. Desperate to help, he worked day and night to save enough money for a well to be dug in drought-stricken Uganda. His ambition soon grew and his altruistic nature dragged schoolmates and ultimately most of Canada with him. An uplifting and wonderfully touching story that reminds us all that we can change the world if we really believe. Ryan's Well
0 comments:
Post a Comment