A photomosaic taken by the Curiosity rover on April 30, 2023, at one drill site in Gale Crater, Mars. Rock powder samples ...

Scientists say the discovery of siderite, a type of iron carbonate, could be crucial evidence to support the theory that Mars once had a thick carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, allowing a warm ...

Now, a new study using data from NASA’s Curiosity Rover claims that sulfate layers on the Martian surface may have been hiding siderite—iron carbonate—from orbital survey missions.

In a paper published this month in the journal Science, data from three of Curiosity’s drill sites revealed an abundance of siderite—an iron carbonate mineral that had been a missing piece in ...

changing the widespread early magnesium clay and iron carbonate into more stable altered forms of these minerals, and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the process. This release of ...

Rock powder samples drilled here contained substantial amounts of siderite (an iron carbonate mineral). The siderite played a role in ancient carbon cycling processes that impacted conditions at ...

The rocks contained an iron carbonate mineral called siderite, which might have formed when an ancient lake evaporated out of the crater. Over time, the siderite could have reacted with other ...