Water on Mars

That the potential for a historic presence of water on Mars is high is old news I suppose. But from time to time I still find it fascinating to read about what the Curiosity rover is up to over there. :-)

Just now I was reading a report on drilling for samples of soil in the "Confidence Hills" within the outcrop called Pahrump Hills on its way to Mount Sharp. There were higher concentrations of hematite there than expected. The article offered an interesting read about erosion states compared to expectations of samples from other sites higher up the mountan side where erosion is expected to be less advanced (Hematite Ridge) since it gives out a strong mineral profile when measured/analysed from space.

All of this puts me in awe of the whole business of space exploration.

All of it.

The fact that Curiosity is still there exploring, actively performing tasks and still operational after well over two years (it landed a few months before my youngest was born). AWESOME.

The fact that we are able to scan and make analysis of the surface of a planet from space. AWESOME.

The fact that we will be able to estimate and theorize on the history of a planet not ours based on the data collected by and communicated back to us from Curiosity. AWESOME.


The fact that what I will remember a few days from now from this article - that there is a mountaneous area in the Gale crater called Pahrump Hills... heh, not so awesome, but I couldn't stop saying it aloud to my self once I realised what it was called... X-)

The article: http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-finds-mineral-match/#.VKwXDiuG-9U