Martian ‘blueberries’ find a parallel on Earth

In 2004, NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ found several small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries. Opportunity’s mini spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

This caused excitement, as the presence of haematites suggests that there was water present on Mars.

Opportunity’s spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites.

This caused excitement, as the presence of haematites suggests that there was water present on Mars. Haematite is known to form in oxidising environments.