Tag Archives: phyllosilicates

Seeking microbial biosignatures for studying Mars rocks

Posted on October 18, 2017 by rburnham

Scientists around Tetyana Milojevic from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna are in search of unique biosignatures, which are left on synthetic extraterrestrial minerals by microbial activity. The biochemist and astrobiologist investigates these signatures at her own … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Crater with possible phyllosilicates

Posted on August 15, 2017 by rburnham

Crater with possible phyllosilicates in the Terra Cimmeria highlands. Beautiful Mars series.

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HiRISE: The Painted Desert near Mawrth Vallis

Posted on August 11, 2017 by rburnham

The clay-rich terrain surrounding Mawrth Vallis is one of the most scenic regions of Mars, a future interplanetary park. Here, we cut a long, oblique view into strips to see the full color coverage in more compact form. The origin … Continue reading →

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CRISM: Evidence of aqueous alteration near Mawrth Vallis

Posted on August 8, 2017 by rburnham

CRISM image 21BCB covers a region on the boundary of Chryse Planita, between Mawrth Vallis and Oyama crater. Chryse Planitia is a smooth circular 1600 km diameter plain that was a landing site for the U.S Viking 1 (landed July … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Clay deposits in the Southern Highlands

Posted on July 28, 2017 by rburnham

Clay deposits in the Southern Highlands. Beautiful Mars series.

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CRISM: Clays near Mawth Vallis

Posted on July 26, 2017 by rburnham

Mawrth Vallis is an ancient Mars river channel (~15km wide) located along the crustal dichotomy boundary that exposes abundant light-toned layers of clay-rich rocks. Indicative of aqueous alteration, these clays may have been deposited during massive flooding events or in … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Dragon scales of Mars

Posted on July 12, 2017 by rburnham

This intriguing surface texture is the result of rock interacting with water. The rock was then eroded and later exposed to the surface. The pinkish, almost dragon-like scaled texture represents Martian bedrock that has specifically altered into a clay-bearing rock. … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: A closer look at Holden Crater

Posted on March 16, 2017 by rburnham

Holden Crater in southern Margaritifer Terra displays a series of finely layered deposits on its floor (white and light purple in an enhanced color image). The layered deposits are especially well exposed in the southwestern section of the crater where … Continue reading →

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Opportunity: Mini-mesa in the valley

Posted on June 27, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 4415-16, June 25-26, 2016. This little flat-topped feature, a mini-mesa sitting on the floor of Marathon Valley with the profile of a tree-stump, is probably an erosional remnant. The Navcam composite view was taken on Sol 4415 and looks northward … Continue reading →

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Opportunity: York target, post-brushing

Posted on June 23, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 4112, June 22, 2016. Opportunity is currently in the middle of one of the clay mineral areas spotted from orbit by the CRISM spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The target area the rover is examining is dubbed York, … Continue reading →

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