Rover hints Newest Sample of Water on Mars was More Acidic

Washington : Curiosity of NASA Mars Rover has provided a newest Martian sample of water on Mars is more acidic than found in the first drill at Mount Sharp. For the latest sample, the rover has used a new low-percussion-level drilling technique to gather sample powder from a rock target known as Mojave 2. The evidence was taken from a target called Confidence Hills.

NASA stated that the evaluation showed a significant amount of jarosite, an oxidised mineral that has iron and sulfur, which is formed in acidic environment. David Vaniman, deputy principal investigator of the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, was of the view that the initial assessment of the newest sample revealed that jarosite level is much more than Confidence Hills.

The minerals in Confidence Hills indicated less acidic conditions of formation. Five months ago, Curiosity reached the base of Mount Sharp. Both the target lies in an outcrop called Pahrump Hills.

The Curiosity team has already proposed that the mountain formed when sediments deposited in a series of lakes filling and drying. Main reason for choosing a target known as Mojave was an abundance of slender features that were present on the rock surface.

Mojave 2, an alternative drilling target selected at the Mojave site, also has crystal features. John Michael Morookian, head for the Pahrump Hills campaign, was of the view that they have used low-percussion drilling on Mars for the first time. It was designed to reduce the energy that researchers impart to the rock.

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