Metal in Mars? Curiosity’s MasCam Feeds Our Curiosity

Scientific collaborators for Curiosity’s Jet propulsion Laboratory were startled at the sight of what seemed to be a piece of a shiny metallic rock projecting out into the surface of the Red Planet. The unusual appearance of this unexpected object needed a human point of comparison and therefore has been said to resemble a door handle or hood ornament. Yet, this unusual event has been approached and studied in a very realistic manner. Curiosity’s team has assumed it may be a photographical illusion of their MasCam Chemistry camera or a natural effect of erosion, not a metallic part of something left behind. It is only logical to assume that this amazing detail extending out of Mar’s surface is only a projection due to wind erosion as the other rocks surrounding the area are eroded as well, though not so finely. Yet, it’s the fact that the rock beneath the projection is less resistant to wind that allows the rock on top to emerge. Fundamentally, since it is fine-grained, it is more likely to be a harder rock and consequently more resistant to the average winds of the area. And while the wind cannot erode it, it is also the wind that polishes it and may have given it its metallic appearance. Resoruces: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20130211.html

Chemistry group: Valentina Leon, Marlenis Rey, Carmen Echavarria.