The Curiosity rover took a photo of what looks like a fossilized, crystalline "flower" on the surface of Mars. What is it?
The picture, snapped in late December, is a closeup shot of the Martian surface which eerily resembles similar finds on Earth. Soon after the image was released to the public, the picture went viral on the web and ignited the old debate: Is there life on Mars?
According to Discovery News, the anomaly hasn't been studied in full. Yet. But officials were quick to point out that the unusually shaped formation is unlikely to be something which fell off the Curiosity rover itself.
NASA spokesman Guy Webster was quoted as saying the object "appears to be part of the rock, not debris from the spacecraft," in an email answer to a reporter's inquiry.
Water has almost certainly flowed on Mars in the past, so discovery of fossilized plants is a possibility. The poles on the planet are lightly covered by ice, and water molecules have been found on meteorites from the red planet which have struck the Earth.
Is it possible that flowers once grew on Mars?
Undoubtedly the investigation will continue and a simpler explanation may be offered. But, if the object is found to indeed be a fossilized flower on Mars, it may be the most important scientific find in history.
Here's the photo, with the enlargement added.
What do you think? Is this a fossil on Mars? Or just a naturally occurring sedimentary phenomenon?
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