Igneous clast named Harrison embedded in a conglomerate rock in Gale crater, Mars, shows elongated light-toned feldspar crystals. (Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/IRAP/U. Nantes/IAS/MSSS)
Scientists have revealed that the presence of unusual, light colored rock formations on Mars that were detected by NASA's Curiosity rover, appears to be almost similar to the continental crust here on Earth which can prove to be evidence of Martian continental crust.
Scientists have previously thought that Mars is mostly composed of basalt, which is a dark, igneous rock that is also found underneath the ocean floor on Earth.
Since the Curiosity rover has been exploring the Gale Crater, its ChemCam laser instruments have detected and analyzed some rocks in the region that appeared to have a distinct, brighter hue.
According to lead ChemCam scientist, Roger Wiens from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the rover's path exposed some strangely beautiful rocks with large, bright crystals that are quite surprising for Mars. Scientists believe that light colored crystals possess lower density which are abundant in igneous rocks, indigenous to Earth.
The Martian chemical rock analysis revealed that the rocks are apparently rich in feldspar and quartz that are almost identical with granite rock found on the continental crust of Earth. Wiens believe that these rocks are telltale signs that Mars is more Earth-like than previously thought.
Wiens also adds that these rocks that contain large feldspar crystals can also possibly contain excess silica meaning Mars does not only have dense, darker rocks but also possess rocks that could appear to have come from any continent on Earth, which is a first on the Red Planet.
According to lead author of the study, Violaine Sautter from the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, these rocks are mostly similar to a terrestrial type of rock found on Earth known as TTG (Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite) to geologists, which is mostly found on the terrestrial continental crust some 2.5 billion years ago.
Gale Crater was created with an impact that exposed one to two miles deep of Martian crust that reveals lightly colored silica rocks that dated around 3.6 billion years ago. This presence could suggest that Mars may have tectonics that are also observed on Earth, according to researchers.
These new findings may also suggest that several billion years ago, Mars may also have looked more like Earth today than what was previously thought. This study is published in the journal, Nature Geoscience.
