rocks rich in silica, similar to those of the oldest on Earth continental crust were scattered in the place where the vehicle Curiosity NASA landed on Mars, according to a study published Monday by Nature Geoscience .
This finding adds to the growing evidence that, in the past, Mars could have been much more like the ancient Earth. The Curiosity rover crossed the crater area of Gale, formed about 3,600 million years ago, where light-colored rocks, which contrasted with those of basaltic composition was younger located in regions found .
The continental crust, which is less dense and different from the composition under the oceans, was thought to be unique to Earth and was attributed to magmatic complex process possibly related to the emergence of plate tectonics.
In the case of the Martian crust was assumed that he had not gone through the magmatic process and therefore should be composed mainly of basalt, although recent missions have discovered the isolated existence of materials rich in silica.
An international team analyzed the geochemical data from more than 22 rocks examined with an instrument, ChemCam Curiosity, as that vehicle crossing an ancient land near the crater Gale.
The experts, led by Violaine Sautter Museum of Natural History of France, found that light-colored rocks are rich in silica and are of various compositions. The composition of some of these rocks is similar to that of some of the oldest continental material from the ground and were preserved.
The researchers suggest that the rocks in clear and rich color on silica may be remnants of an ancient Martian crust similar to the first continental crust that occurred on Earth, while noting that requires new data to confirm this.
EFE
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