Difference between revisions of "Minerals"

From Marspedia
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Undo revision 5911 by 189.112.189.28 (Talk) vandalism)
Line 16: Line 16:
 
This mineral has been found in [[Gusev Crater]].
 
This mineral has been found in [[Gusev Crater]].
  
==Salt==
+
Hallelujah! I neeedd this—you're my savior.
[[Calcium carbonate]], [[magnesium]], [[sodium]], [[potassium]], [[chloride]] and [[perchlorate]] have been found by the [[Phoenix]] lander (http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/09_09_pr.php). Chloride, perhaps ''table salt'', have also been found by [[Mars Odyssey]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7302591.stm  BBC: Mars is 'covered in table salt']</ref>
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 21:36, 28 September 2011

Minerals are natural resources needed as raw material for setup and extension of settlements on Mars. From recent unmanned missions some valuable minerals have been found, most of them by the Mössbauer spectrometer MIMOS II.

Goethite

Chemical formula: α-FeO(OH)

This mineral has been identified near the landing zones of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, for example at "Columbia Hills". This mineral was probably created from iron under the influence of liquid water.

Hematite

Chemical formula: α-Fe2O3

This mineral has been found at the landing zone of Opportunity.

Olivine

Chemical formula: (Mg,Fe)2SiO4

This mineral has been found in Gusev Crater.

Hallelujah! I neeedd this—you're my savior.

References


Open Issues

  • How exactly can iron, magnesium, etc. be extracted out of these minerals? What we need here are simple processes, allowing the exploitation with limited chemical and energy resources on Mars. The processing should be strictly lo-tech.