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Science & Tech.
Pradeep Kumar

14/03/21 10:40 AM IST

Martian blueberries

Context

In 2004, NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ found several small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries. Opportunity’s mini spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites. This caused excitement, as the presence of haematites suggests that there was water present on Mars.

Recent discovery
  • Several researchers have shown that the Kutch area is a potential Martian analogue locality.
  • A 2016 paper argued that the occurrences of hydrous sulphate in the Matanumadh area of Kutch, resemble Martian surficial processes.
  • The team has been studying the Jhuran formation in Gujarat which is between 145 and 201 million years old.
  • Detailed geochemistry and spectroscopic investigations of the haematite concretions in this area revealed that they resemble the ones on Mars.
  • They have similar morphology – spherical, often doublet and triplet – and similar mineralogy – a mixture of haematite and goethite
  • The haematites on Mars not just show the presence of water, they also indicate that the planet had an atmosphere with oxygen as haematites need oxygen to stabilise.
Source: The Hindu

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