Martian ‘blueberries’ find a parallel on Earth
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
17th Mar, 2021
-
Context
Haematite concretions similar to Martian blueberries of Mars have been found in Kutch, Gujarat.
About Martian blueberries
- These are small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries.
- They were discovered in 2004 by NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity.
- They were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites.
- The presence of haematites suggests that there was water present on Mars.
- Haematite concretionis precipitation from aqueous fluids
- Hematite is known to form in oxidizing environments
Jhuran formation
- These are sandstones found in Kachchh, Gujarat which is between 145 and 201 million years old.
- They have similar morphology – spherical, often doublet and triplet.
- They also have similar mineralogy, a mixture of haematite and goethite.
NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’
- Opportunity was the second of the two rovers launched in 2003 to land on the Red Planet in search of signs of past life.
- The rover is still actively exploring the Martian terrain, having far outlasted her planned 90-day mission.
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