Mars Express Results |
Mars Express Results |
Feb 20 2005, 11:24 AM
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Rover Driver Group: Members Posts: 1015 Joined: 4-March 04 Member No.: 47 |
http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/9/2/10/1
QUOTE he latest results from Mars Express reveal that the surface of the red planet is much more diverse than previously thought, with evidence for the presence of hydrated sulphates, silicates and various rock-forming minerals. Space scientists working on the European Space Agency mission have just analysed the first nine months of data from the OMEGA instrument and published six papers that give the first detailed inventory of the entire Martian surface. Last year Mars Express identified frozen water at both the north and south poles of the planet.
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Sep 7 2005, 08:28 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3419 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Member No.: 15 |
Following up on the idea I just proposed about the evaporite near Erebus incorporating Erebus ejecta, it now seems clear that the dark clasts we saw in the RAT holes Oppy made recently (someone suggested they might be incompletely-generated concretions) may actually be sand- and pebble-sized grains of Erebus ejecta that were embedded in the evaporite. I bet we see a higher percentage of such clasts in the evaporite "floor" as we approach the rim of Erebus.
That would definitely, *strongly* suggest that Erebus was formed before the evaporite deposition process was complete. Since the Erebus rim materials seem to be made, at least in part, of evaporite, I'd think that there had to have been evaporite there when the crater formed -- so the process had started. But finding Erebus ejecta incorporated into more recent layers of evaporite would almost be proof that Erebus was flooded, altered and eroded by liquid water, and partially covered by more evaporite before the waters receded for good. The Erebus impactor may actually have impacted into water... though, at this stage of degradation, I don't know how you'd establish that. -the other Doug -------------------- “The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
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