Gypsum on Mars

Suspected gypsum vein on Mars. Image taken by the Opportunity Rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU.

NASA thinks their rover has found veins of gypsum on Mars. If they have, it will be an excellent indication that there was once standing water on Mars — gypsum is usually precipitated in evaporating lakes — and will excite the search for life on Mars.

What gypsum veins on Earth look like: white gypsum veins from Somerset, UK. Image by Ashley Dace. (via Wikipedia)

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