There should be no such stones here.
Mars rover Perseverance found volcanic stones in a crater that is considered to be a dry lake” />
The Mars rover Perseverance made an amazing discovery – it found volcanic “magmatic” stones in the Crater Lake. This can help scientists better understand the climatic history of Mars and find out when the Red Planet was wet and potentially habitable, according to Space.com.
The discovery of volcanic rocks was a surprise for scientists. It was believed that Perseverance settled in a region formed from mud and debris left over from the site of an ancient lake that existed in the Lake Crater approximately 3.7 billion years ago.
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The origin of these stones remains a mystery to scientists, since there are no obvious volcanic deposits in the crater or near it. Perseverance studied two formations of igneous rocks, named Seita and Maaz, the latter of which overlaps the first.
Seita is rich in olivine, which is a common volcanic mineral formed from magnesium and iron silicate. Maaz, on the other hand, was formed by magma that flowed over Seita.
In another article, in which the rocks studied by the Mars rover are analyzed, it is said that both Seita and Maaz were located under the surface, and then were partially raised, positioned at an angle.
According to scientists, the rocky ridge about a kilometer long is inclined at an angle of about 10 degrees. This discovery is unexpected because exceptional tectonic forces are required to lift such geological units, but there is no plate tectonics on Mars, and there is no convincing evidence that it ever existed.
The lake filled the Lake Crater shortly after after Seita and Maaz were formed, covered them with a layer of sedimentary rocks. But when the climate of Mars changed, the lake dried up and exposed these deposits. Since then, they have remained in this region, exposed to erosion, mainly by wind.
Perseverance differs from other rovers in its ability to collect soil samples and then transfer them to Earth for analysis. The mission to return the samples is planned for 2028.
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As a reminder, NASA has given the Perseverance rover the ability to independently select targets for sample collection, which should accelerate the development of science on Mars. Without direct instructions from the Earth, the rover “shot” at two targets with the help of its SuperCam instrument.
