Mars "Brain" Rock and more by MSL

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Source Image Curiosity Sol 2304

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It's not really a brain, but is sure looks organic to me. There have been more rocks in the area that have an organic look to them.

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Source Image Curiosity Sol 2300

Could the MSL possibly of found more ancient microbial sedimentary structures on Mars?


Some time around the dust storm and the computer problems with MSL two changes have happened. First shinny rocks have shown up on Mars. I don't know if I can recall ever seeing shiny rocks on Mars that were not meteorites.

The other change is MSL is sending only a few MastCam images that are not Bayer images. Most MastCam images that NASA has been releasing lately are black and white unless you process them to reveal the color.

Take a look at the images released the last few months and then images released 6 months ago. Most of the color images are MAHLI images and a few targeted MastCam images.

The Bayer images are lossy, do not have much detail and the colors are less reliable. The below image is an example of a Bayer image of shiny rocks that has been processed to reveal the color.All Sizes on Flickr

Source Image Curiosity Sol 2304

Is there a reason high quality color, random MastCam images are not being sent back by MSL? Is something being hidden?

This is another Bayer image that has been processed.All Sizes on Flickr

Source Image Curiosity Sol 2306

The ChemCam Image.All Sizes on Flickr

Another interesting ChemCam Image.
Source Image Curiosity Sol 2307

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Lets not forget some scenic images.

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From Curiosity Sol 2304.

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That 'brain' is a feature you'd see quite often in terrestrial sandstones as a result of the action of water in the depositional environment.

a reply to: OneBigMonkeyToo

You also see it in some Stromatolites. I don't think it looks organic because it looks like a brain. It and other rocks in the area have microbial mat features like at Yellowknife Bay.

We have rocks like that around here, they most often are calcium based rocks and that makes them look like brain like when rained on for years.

I suppose blowing sand could cause a similar effect.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

As far as stromatolites are concerned, I recall an interesting paper by Steven Ruff who drew comparisons between the geology of the home plate plateau (explored by Spirit rover) and the El Tatio hot springs on Earth. He and his co-author conclude:

"The morphology of Home Plate digitate silica structures bears a strong resemblance to the microbially mediated microstromatolites at El Tatio" (more details available here)

There are quite a few other examples that suggest that certain types of organisms once thrived on Mars.

a reply to: jeep3r

Home Plate also may have been the site of a hydro-thermal vent.

Space.com - Hydrothermal Vents on Mars Could Have Supported Life.

The vents evidence comes from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The robotic explorer found deposits of pure silica, a form of the element silicon that occurs when hot water reacts with rocks (quartz is a pure silica), in Mars' Gusev Crater in 2007.

The discovery was announced briefly at the time, but scientists have now had time to fully analyze the deposits. The results are detailed in the May 23 issue of the journal Science.

Here is an interesting paper Hydrothermal origin of halogens at Home Plate, Gusev Crater with some good images.

From near the summit of Husband Hill, Home Plate was observed to have color differences around its rim fromwest to east (Figure 4) [Farrand et al., 2008], a finding corroborated by later HiRISE orbital imaging. On closerexamination, Home Plate was found to be a1 to 2 m tall,80 m diameter light-toned, subcircular platform of finelylaminated, massive, and cross-bedded dark-toned strata covered by lighter-toned dust [Squyres et al., 2007]. First approached at the northwest scarp, Spirit examined a2mtall section of Barnhill outcrop that comprises two units: alower, laminated, coarser-grained unit and an upper finer-grained cross-bedded unit (Figures 2b and 2c).

Curious, the wind storms expose instead of cover. Perhaps due to wind speed. Maybe the actual volume of sand in the area available to make drifts or dunes is less than here on Earth.

Organic Rocks you say

originally posted by: UpIsNowDown
Organic Rocks you say

Yes I did

What Are Organic Sedimentary Rocks?

Organic sedimentary rocks are sedimentary rocks formed from the remains of organisms. The three types of organic sedimentary rock are limestone, chert and coal. Both limestone and chert are formed largely from the hard structures of organisms, while coal is formed from dead plants after a long period of exposure to the correct environmental conditions.

Bony fish, corals and certain planktonic algae form calcium-based structures that break down and settle to the ocean floor after their deaths. These build up under time and pressure, eventually solidifying into a solid mass known as limestone.

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...