We know that weather on Mars is vastly different than what we experience here on Earth . However , unexampled findingsshow the Red Planet may experience a weird , ground - like meteorological phenomenon : acid fog .
Planetary scientists are like cosmic sleuths , searching for hint in the data and then piecing them together to determine what go on in a major planet ’s history . Shoshanna Cole , an adjunct professor at Ithaca College , discovered evidence of acid fog eating by at fundamentals on Mars when she was combing through datum collect by the Spirit rover . She presented her findings on November 2 at the annual meeting of theGeological Society of Americain Baltimore , Maryland .
The Spirit rover was sent to depend for ancient lake beds on Mars , land in Gusev Crater and traveling to Columbia Hills , Husband Hill , and Cumberland Ridge to study ancient fundamentals . Cole studied these orbit in great detail for her Ph.D. thesis , focus on the " Watchtower Class " rock outcrops in the region . Using data collected by several of Spirit ’s instruments back in 2003 , she discovered grounds that acidic vaporisation appeared to have eat away at the bedrock in a 100 - Akka area of Husband Hill .
" The special thing about Watchtower Class is that it ’s very far-flung and we see it in dissimilar locations . As far as we can tell , it ’s part of the land there which means that these sway disc environments that existed on Mars billions of year ago , ” Cole explain in astatement .
Spirit study Watchtower Class rocks at over a dozen localization over a 200 - beat ( 656 - metrical foot ) area along the Cumberland Ridge and Husband Hill summit . Spirit ’s Alpha Proton X - ray Spectrometer ( APXS ) determined they all had the same chemical substance composition ; however , the rock appeared to look different to the rover ’s other instruments .
Spirit ’s Mössbauer Spectrometer showed there was a amazingly all-embracing pas seul in the ratio of oxidized iron to full iron in the Cumberland Ridge sampling , range from 0.43 to 0.94 across a 30 - cadence ( 98 - foot ) division , advise that something had reacted with the iron in these rock music to vary degree .
The pie chart show the variation across the region . Image from S. Cole , PhD thesis ; background double : NASA / JPL / Cornell / Arizona State University ; Moessbauer note value from Morris et al . 2008 ( doi : 10.1029/2008JE003201 ) .
Data collected from both the Mössbauer Spectrometer and the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer ( Mini - TES ) showed that the minerals within the rocks interchange : they suffer their initial social organization , becoming less lucid and more uncrystallized . These changes check with small blow on the rocks called agglomerations , which were seen in the pancam images of the rocks .
" So we can see the agglomeration pass on in size of it from west to east , and the iron changes in the same way , " Coleexplains . Since the chemical substance composition of the rocks was the same , this point they were originally monovular , direct scientist to believe that something pass to the rocks to make them dissimilar .
So what caused the changes in the rocks ? Cole hypothesizes that acidulent water vapour from volcanic eruptions is behind the changes . like to the volcanic smog , or “ vog , ” we see on Earth , when the corrosive Martian vog landed on the fundamentals , it would have dissolved some of the minerals , make a colloidal gel . Once the water evaporation evaporated , a cementum - similar agent was left behind and resulted in the agglomerations .
" So nothing is being added or take on away , but it was change , " Cole say . " This would have happen in tiny amounts over a very long time . There ’s even one place where you see the cementing agent healing a fracture . It ’s moderately awful . I was middling glad when I detect that one . "
In 2004 , scientists carry on laboratory experiment bring out mock martian basalt rock music ( based on data from the Mars Pathfinder mini - rover ) to sulphuric and hydrochloric acids . The result showed that when exposed to Lucy in the sky with diamonds , like would be present in the Martian vog , the rocks miss their crystalline structure – just like Cole proposed .
Microclimates also play a use . The time that the gel was present on the John Rock was determined by how much cheer and twine the tilt find . The least altered John Rock were on sunnier , gentler gradient , and the expectant agglomerations were observe on the very extortionate , shady side .
Using Spirit data point to patch together this Martian vog teaser is a existent testament to the little rover ’s success . " Spirit ’s the rover who always had to try hard , " Colesaid . " She was sent to Gusev Crater to appear for lake alluviation , but landed in lava field . She had to make a recollective trek to the Columbia Hills to obtain grounds of ancient reeking environments . There ’s still tons of data to analyze there , and that ’s really nifty . "
