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Mars Curiosity rover finds purple rocks

Purple rocks on MarsThis new image from the Mars Curiosity rover captures purple-colored rocks on the surface of lower Mount Sharp. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
 

Curiosity rover size perspectiveOn Nov. 10th Mars Curiosity Rover’s mast cam took this image which shows purple fucking rocks in the foreground. Click on the image to see a bigger one. The reason purple rocks on Mars are so fascinating is, well okay, I don’t know exactly but NASA said, “Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp. The purple tone of the foreground rocks has been seen in other rocks where Curiosity's Chemical and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument has detected hematite,” or some type of an iron-oxide mineral, “Winds and windblown sand in this part of Curiosity's traverse and in this season tend to keep rocks relatively free of dust, which otherwise can cloak rocks' color.”

From other missions on Mars we know, because of really smart NASA dudes and geologist dudes, hematite is formed in active water flowing type situations. Now I probably could have explained that part of it better and got all long winded, but I’m not a fucking scientist.

As far as what’s next for Hitchbot Curiosity, it’s going to climb to a hematite ‘unit’ (can see in above image), then to a clay unit and finally to a sulfate unit. The sulfate unit is the highest planed exploration area, but you know those NASA guys, they’re going to do a shit ton more so long as the wheels don’t fall off or it doesn’t blow up.