The green planet? Perseverance discovers Mars isn't as red as we think!

[Judi Lynn]

8 HOURS AGO
by Chris Melore

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The sands on Mars may actually be greener than scientists have thought. Brand new observations from the Mars rover Perseverance have found that the “Red Planet” is also home to the same kinds of rocks that turn beaches on Earth a dark shade of green!

For as long as humans have been staring up into space at Mars, the fourth planet in our solar system, its color has never been in question — it’s a big red rock in space. Now that Perseverance has landed in the Jezero Crater, however, scientists are uncovering new layers to Mars’ geological history.

Researchers from Purdue’s College of Science say they expected to find sedimentary rocks in the crater, washed in by rivers and accumulated on the ancient lake bottom. What the probe actually found was volcanic rock, composed of large grains of olivine. This muddier and less-gemlike version of peridot tints many of Hawaii’s beaches dark green.

Planetary scientist Roger Wiens led the design and construction of Perseverance’s SuperCam, which analyzes rock samples and determines their origin. Study co-author Briony Horgan helped to select Jezero Crater as the rover’s landing site.

More:
https://studyfinds.org/perseverance-mars-red-green-rocks/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Tempting to think of a connection with Schiaperelli's "canali" -- but I don't think those were ever

found to correlate with any surface features, even after advanced probes had surveyed the planet. (Wikipedia says they were basically optical illusions.)