Curiosity rover has examined the age of Martian rocks - Money.pl

2013-12-10 11:40

[Photo: sxc / cc / flaivoloka]

Based on measurements of the American auto probe investigating Mars – the rover Curiosity – the researchers determined the age of the Martian rocks. You were also able to measure how much cosmic radiation reaches on average each day to the surface of the planet – NASA announces.

Curiosity on Mars is more than a year. At this time, various measurements performed, and include drilling in the rocks. December 9 in the online edition of the journal, Science Express “was published six scientific articles describing the results obtained by Curiosity. Results are also presented at the conference of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

The most important new applications include estimating the age of Martian rocks. The probe has examined the rock named “Cumberland”. As emphasized NASA’s first determine the age of rocks based on the analysis of the mineralogical composition, made directly on the surface of another planet.

scientist Kenneth Farley of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and his team, has determined the age of the rock, Cumberland “on from 3.86 to 4.56 billion years. This result is consistent with previous estimates of the age of the rocks in the crater Gale , in which the Curiosity.

, age is not a surprise. The most surprising thing is that it worked the method of appointment on the basis of measurements made directly on Mars. With the confirmation of the reliability of the new method not want to receive unexpected results. Everything indicates that our understanding of the past, Mars is correct “- explains Farley.

method used by the team Farley is similar to the well-known 60 years radiometric dating techniques used in the case of terrestrial rocks. In this particular case disintegration measured isotope potassium, which slowly changes in argon. When a rock is melted, the gas escapes from it. The method measure the amount of argon that accumulate from the time when the rock again hardened.

Before the measurements, scientists estimated the age of the site based on the number of impact craters, based on the relationship between the density of craters on the moon, and the age determined from measurements of the rocks brought to Earth by the Apollo astronauts.

research team have identified Farley also, as long as rock, Cumberland “is located on the surface of Mars or in the vicinity. in such a situation is in fact exposed to cosmic radiation, which interacts with the atoms of rocks, resulting in the formation of gas accumulations. Analyses Three different gases indicate the age of 60 to 100 million years. This means that the scale was relatively recently reached the opening or surface.

Another important result published in “Science Express” are measurements of the radiation on the surface of Mars. This is particularly important in the context of potential future manned mission to the Red Planet. To the planet’s surface reaches cosmic rays from outside the solar system and energy particles from the Sun. In the period from August 2012 to June 2013 levels of radiation averaged 0.67 milisievert per day. For comparison, a chest X-ray image is a dose of 0.02 milisievert. (PAP)

time / mrt /