01/08/2004: 
Technologica
My Favorite Geologist
from JPL
submitted by alert reader thomas pain(e)
click to enlarge
This picture is from Pathfinder in 1997. It seems Spirit has been sent to answer just these questions.
Of fundamental importance are the age and composition of different types of rocks on the Martian surface. Geologists use the age of rocks to determine the sequence of events in a planet's history. Composition information tells them what happened over time. Particularly important is the identification of rocks and minerals formed in the presence of water. Water is one of the keys to whether life might have started on Mars. What other materials might be trapped in those rocks with information about the planet's history? How are the different rock types distributed across the surface? Future orbiting and landed missions will carry special tools designed to help answer these questions.
