A small, flower-like mineral deposit on the surface of Mars was recently visited by the NASA rover. The branching rock is just 1 centimeter wide and looks like a coral or sponge. The deposit is not alive and is a common sight across the Martian landscape.
Aeolis Mons, also known as Mount Sharp, is at the heart of the 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale crater, where the rover has been studying since its arrival on the Red Planet in 2012. The image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, which takes close-ups using a magnifying lens. This type of photo allows the rover to produce more detailed images.
The Blackthorn Salt is a diagenetic feature, or one made from minerals that precipitated from ancient water that had previously been mixed with Martian rock, according to a planetary scientist. She said that Mars has diagenetic features that are similar in size but can be branched or even spherical, like the Blackthorn Salt.
Astrobiologists are holding out hope for life on Mars.
Fraeman said that they have seen diagenetic features with similar shapes before, but this dendritic shape is particularly beautiful.
Since it arrived in the crater, it has uncovered several other diagenetic features. The crater could have once been a lake that would have provided the water from which features form. In 2015, several other flower-like deposits were discovered in the Pahrump Hills area, and in 2019, other diagenetic features were found at the Murray formation.
In 2004, the Opportunity rover found a number of spherical features on a plain near the Martian equator. The composition and color of the Blackthorn Salt are very similar to the surrounding bedrock.
Fraeman said that documenting new features like the Blackthorn Salt could help researchers figure out when liquid water disappeared from Mars. She said that this could reveal more information about how long the environment could have been hospitable to life.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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