Monday, December 22, 2008

Colours that point to life on Mars - Times Online

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected carbonate mineral in rock outcrops in Nili Fossae on MarsA swirl of green detected by a spacecraft among purple and yellow rocks shows patches of the mineral carbonate on Mars, which suggests that the planet may support life.

Carbonate, which forms in water, was spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in Nili Fossae, a region of valleys that cut into the crust of the planet.

“It would have really been a clement, benign environment for early Martian life,” said Bethany Ehlmann, a mission scientist from Brown University, Rhode Island.

The results will be featured in the journal Science.

via Colours that point to life on Mars - Times Online.

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