Minerals and Rocks
3 reportsResearch on Minerals and Rocks examines an Earth process, material, landscape, water system, or hazard through field and geophysical evidence. Current understanding relies on petrographic analysis, igneous rocks, and primary observations, with uncertainty tracked across measurement, classification, and reconstruction.
Igneous rocks and direct observations are treated as separate lines of evidence. Their combined record addresses how minerals are identified and what rock textures reveal, showing how sparse measurements or incomplete records limit certainty.
Igneous rocks and direct observations are treated as separate lines of evidence. Their combined record addresses how minerals are identified and what rock textures reveal, showing how sparse measurements or incomplete records limit certainty.
Curiosity Drills Its 48th Rock Target on Mars
Curiosity has drilled into Basque Lakes in Gale crater and is preparing mineral analysis that could reveal how this Martian rock formed and changed over time
Curiosity Finds Strange Discs Before Its Next Mars Drill
Curiosity has photographed millimeter-scale disc-shaped features on Martian bedrock and is preparing a drill campaign to determine whether they formed from minerals or fragments of harder rock
Perseverance Finds Three Water Episodes in Ancient Mars Rocks
Perseverance has analyzed igneous rocks in Mars' Jezero Crater that record at least three separate interactions with water, including a later episode involving heated underground fluids.