Mars orbiter finds carbonate in bedrock
Times Staff and Wire Reports
An orbiting spacecraft has discovered a key mineral in bedrock on the Martian surface that suggests the planet might once have had an environment hospitable to life, scientists have reported.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected carbonate mineral in rock outcrops in Nili Fossae, a region of valleys that have cut into the planet’s ancient crust. Its presence indicates water there wasn’t as acidic.
The results appeared Friday in the journal Science.
