Latest news with #CatherineOConnellCooper
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Scientists discover 'honey and waffle' structures on Mars
Some optimistic astronomers might still hope to find signs of aliens on Mars , but no one could have expected to discover something that sounds quite so delicious. Scientists have been baffled after discovering bizarre structures on the Martian surface which look like 'a patchwork of honeycombs, or maybe a patch of waffles'. These 'wild' hexagonal shapes were uncovered by the Mars Curiosity Rover inside the Gale Crater, where the roaming robot landed in 2012. Scientists say these tasty-sounding structures might hold the secrets of how life could have started on the Red Planet. Writing in a NASA blog post, Dr Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, a planetary geologist at the University of New Brunswick, wrote: 'Coming into planning this morning, we found a workspace with amazingly well preserved polygonal shaped fractures. 'We have spotted these before but usually not as well preserved and extensive as this.' Previous studies suggest that these types of formations may have been created by wet and dry seasons 3.6 to 3.8 million years ago. As the planet dried out, repeated wet-dry cycles created cracks just like the ones you might see around a drying lake bed on Earth, which have been preserved ever since. After discovering the honeycomb fractures last week, NASA scientists instructed Curiosity to analyze their composition. Using a technique called 'Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy', Curiosity will fire a laser pulse at the surface of the sample to create a small burst of plasma. By looking at the light emitted by this plasma, scientists are able to work out what kinds of chemicals are in the rocks. 'Or during later periods when groundwater moved through the bedrock?' This is not the first time that NASA has spotted regular, polygon structures on Mars, but scientists are still working to learn more about how they formed. Previously, scientists thought that they were mud cracks, like those you might see in an empty riverbed during a drought, formed as a once-wet Mars dried out. However, new analysis has suggested that their origins might be more complex. In 2021, NASA first took images of a series of polygonal cracks on the slopes of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile (5 km) tall peak in the Gale Crater. The cracks were found above a rich clay deposit, which was probably once the bed of an ancient lake, and below an area rich in sulphates left behind as the water dried. This initially supported the idea that the cracks had been formed by a drying lake , but subsequent analysis showed that the newer cracks contained traces of sulphates. This suggested that the lake had dried out multiple times, pulling sulphate-rich water down into the cracks. According to the researchers, this means the cracks were made during a time in which the water level in the lake was rising and falling seasonally. Their complex, waffle-like shape emerged and became more complex through these repeated wet-dry cycles. Since these newly discovered polygons have a similar shape, they may have been formed through a similar process. If so, they could hold clues to how life might have formed on Mars during the planet's wet past. On Earth, scientists believe that repeated wet-dry cycles could be how the first organic compounds, molecules found in all living things, were formed. As the water rises and falls, new chemicals are constantly brought into the environment, which encourages the reactions which form complex molecules. In a statement at the time, NASA scientist Dr Ashwin Vasavada said that these processes could have 'promoted the origin of life'. However, these smaller structures are not the only mysterious patterns that scientists have spotted on Mars. In 2023, the Chinese Zhurong rover detected 15 vast honeycomb structures hidden dozens of metres beneath the Martian surface. Each crack is 70 metres across and is bordered by 30 metres of ice and mud slurry formed between two and 3.5 billion years ago. On Earth, similar structures are only found in Greenland, Iceland, and Antarctica, where sudden temperature shifts create fractures that are filled with ice and mud. Scientists believe a similar process might have split open Mars' surface as it wobbled on its axis, drastically changing the seasonal temperatures. This could be yet another clue about how the Red Planet's climate has changed over the last few billion years, and whether it was ever habitable.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Scientists BAFFLED after discovering weird ‘honey and waffle' structures on Mars
Some optimistic astronomers might still hope to find signs of aliens on Mars, but no one could have expected to discover something that sounds quite so delicious. Scientists have been baffled after discovering bizarre structures on the Martian surface which look like 'a patchwork of honeycombs, or maybe a patch of waffles'. These 'wild' hexagonal shapes were uncovered by the Mars Curiosity Rover inside the Gale Crater, where the roaming robot landed in 2012. Scientists say these tasty-sounding structures might hold the secrets of how life could have started on the Red Planet. Writing in a NASA blog post, Dr Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, a planetary geologist at the University of New Brunswick, wrote: 'Coming into planning this morning, we found a workspace with amazingly well preserved polygonal shaped fractures. 'We have spotted these before but usually not as well preserved and extensive as this.' Previous studies suggest that these types of formations may have been created by wet and dry seasons 3.6 to 3.8 million years ago. As the planet dried out, repeated wet-dry cycles created cracks just like the ones you might see around a drying lake bed on Earth, which have been preserved ever since. After discovering the honeycomb fractures last week, NASA scientists instructed Curiosity to analyse their composition. Using a technique called 'Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy', Curiosity will fire a laser pulse at the surface of the sample to create a small burst of plasma. By looking at the light emitted by this plasma, scientists are able to work out what kinds of chemicals are in the rocks. NASA also plans to take some measurements of the nearby bedrock without any honeycomb structures for comparison. However, it might be some time before the findings from those studies are analysed and made public. In the meantime, NASA's rover operators are not entirely sure what the polygon structures might be. Dr O'Connell-Cooper says: 'The origin of these cracks is not clear - could they have formed as desiccation cracks as Mars began to get drier, billions of years ago? 'Or during later periods when groundwater moved through the bedrock?' NASA's Curiosity Rover has been travelling around Mars' Gale Crater since it landed in 2012. This vast impact crater was formed around 3.7 billion years ago when a meteor hit the planet. In the distant past, it may have been filled with water and formed a large lake This is not the first time that NASA has spotted regular, polygon structures on Mars, but scientists are still working to learn more about how they formed. Previously, scientists thought that they were mud cracks, like those you might see in an empty riverbed during a drought, formed as a once-wet Mars dried out. However, new analysis has suggested that their origins might be more complex. In 2021, NASA first took images of a series of polygonal cracks on the slopes of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile (5 km) tall peak in the Gale Crater. The cracks were found above a rich clay deposit, which was probably once the bed of an ancient lake, and below an area rich in sulphates left behind as the water dried. This initially supported the idea that the cracks had been formed by a drying lake, but subsequent analysis showed that the newer cracks contained traces of sulphates. This suggested that the lake had dried out multiple times, pulling sulphate-rich water down into the cracks. According to the researchers, this means the cracks were made during a time in which the water level in the lake was rising and falling seasonally. Their complex, waffle-like shape emerged and became more complex through these repeated wet-dry cycles. Since these newly discovered polygons have a similar shape, they may have been formed through a similar process. If so, they could hold clues to how life might have formed on Mars during the planet's wet past. On Earth, scientists believe that repeated wet-dry cycles could be how the first organic compounds, molecules found in all living things, were formed. As the water rises and falls, new chemicals are constantly brought into the environment, which encourages the reactions which form complex molecules. In a statement at the time, NASA scientist Dr Ashwin Vasavada said that these processes could have 'promoted the origin of life'. However, these smaller structures are not the only mysterious patterns that scientists have spotted on Mars. In 2023, the Chinese Zhurong rover detected 15 vast honeycomb structures hidden dozens of metres beneath the Martian surface. Each crack is 70 metres across and is bordered by 30 metres of ice and mud slurry formed between two and 3.5 billion years ago. On Earth, similar structures are only found in Greenland, Iceland, and Antarctica, where sudden temperature shifts create fractures that are filled with ice and mud. Scientists believe a similar process might have split open Mars' surface as it wobbled on its axis, drastically changing the seasonal temperatures. This could be yet another clue about how the Red Planet's climate has changed over the last few billion years, and whether it was ever habitable.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
NASA Curiosity Mars Rover Investigates ‘Polygon Heaven'
NASA's Curiosity rover snapped this view of polygon-patterned bedrock on May 4. Mars is home to a lot of odd-shaped rocks that can look pretty random. Patterns, however, can catch scientists' eyes. That's the case with a section of polygon-patterned rocks spotted by NASA's Curiosity rover. The geometric cracks are a bit of a mystery, but the rover is looking into it. Current-day Mars comes across as an unpleasant place to live. It can reach painfully frigid temperatures and the surface is dry. That wasn't always the case. Mars was once a more watery place. The planet's history of water may play into the polygons. 'While the origin of these shapes isn't clear, they're another clue into how and when Mars lost its water,' the Curiosity team said on X on May 6. The Curiosity team shared a close-up color view of the polygon patterns snapped by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, one of the rover's many cameras. MAHLI is located at the end of the rover's robotic arm and helps the rover get into the personal space of Mars rocks and geologic features. The view shows a brown rock with distinctive angles. The Curiosity rovers MAHLI camera snapped a close color view of the polygon-patterned bedrock. There are several possible explanations for the polygonal cracks. Planetary geologist Catherine O'Connell-Cooper of the University of New Brunswick offered up a couple of ideas in a rover mission update on May 8. The cracks might have formed as Mars dried out billions of years ago. The shapes could also have formed later as groundwater moved through the bedrock. The mission update declared the area 'polygon heaven.' The polygon patterns resemble shapes seen in mud when it dries out on Earth. It will take more investigation before scientists can dial in the most likely origin for the distinctive patterns on Mars. 'Spending time in this area will help us to tease out their origin by sampling as much of the diversity as we can, from regular bedrock to the stranger textured targets,' wrote O'Connell-Cooper. The team will compare data from the polygonal features with data from unpatterned bedrock. Curiosity arrived on Mars in 2012, making it NASA's oldest functioning rover on the planet. It's traveled over 21 miles as it scales the slopes of Mount Sharp—the massive central mountain inside the Gale Crater. The rover's primary mission has been to understand if Mars might have been habitable for microbial life long ago. Both Curiosity and its newer sibling rover Perseverance have a similar aim: to help us understand if there is or ever was life beyond Earth. Curiosity has witnessed quite a few oddball formations in its time on the red planet. It spotted a rock that resembled the pages of a book and photographed a set of rocks with 'dragon scale' patterns. The rover ran over and broke open a stunning rock full of yellow sulfur crystals last year. The polygon-patterned rocks are the latest wonders to come under scrutiny from Curiosity and its team of human researchers back on Earth. NASA's posts on Curiosity's social media outlets are written as though coming directly from the rover itself. The rover had one more thing to say about studying the polygon patterns: 'Science rocks—literally.'
