Space Journal Entry
Space Journal Entry
Mars Rover Finds New Signs of Water (January 4, 2010)
The rover Spirit found more evidence of water on Mars. NASA.
For more than eight months, a wheel of the Mars rover Spirit has been stuck in a patch of soft sand on the Red Planet. Despite being stuck, the rover recently found new evidence of Mars' watery past. The rover's spinning wheel broke through a thin rocky crust and dug a crater that's filled with iron sulfates. Scientists say these chemicals formed long ago when water was abundant on the surface.
It's the highest concentration of iron sulfates found so far on Mar. The compounds formed during at a time billions of years ago when the planet's surface was filled with erupting volcanoes.
NASA engineers keep trying to find a way to free the rover from its sand trap. It's not looking good for Spirit, one of two rovers exploring Mars since early in 2004. But its twin Opportunity is doing well on the other side of the planet. It's now on the way to explore another huge crater.
