Scientists have found reddish rock powder from the first hole drilled into a Martian mountain by NASA's Curiosity rover that has yielded the mission's first confirmation of a mineral mapped from orbit.
Mars rover Curiosity has discovered the first mineral match from the Martian surface. The sample has been taken from a target called "Confidence Hills", that had more haematite content than any rock or soil sample previously found during the two-year-old mission.
The hole drilled into the mountain has yielded the mission's confirmation of a mineral mapped from orbit.
The new sample has been the only partially oxidised and preserved samples of magnetite and olivine that indicated a gradient of oxidation levels.
Researchers have reached the part of the Gale Crater where they have the mineralogical information that has been important in selection of Gale Crater as the landing site as the Crater has testified to the ancient presence of water.
The mission may spend weeks to months at Pahrump Hills before proceeding farther up the stack of geological layers forming Mount Sharp. Those higher layers included an erosion-resistant band of rock higher on Mount Sharp with such a strong orbital signature of hematite, it is called "Hematite Ridge." The target drilled at Pahrump Hills was much softer and more deeply eroded than Hematite Ridge.
Another NASA Mars rover, Opportunity, has made a key discovery of hematite-rich spherules on a different part of Mars in 2004. That finding was important as evidence of a water-soaked history that produced those mineral concretions. The form of hematite at Pahrump Hills was different and most important as a clue about oxidation conditions. Plenty of other evidences in Gale Crater has testified to the ancient presence of water.