Spirit rover has come across evidence to suggest that there had been an explosion of ancient volcano at Home Plate which is a layered bedrock plateau near the landing site of rover in Gusev Crater. This evidence has added more weight to the idea that Mars had a watery past and is also the first explosive volcanic deposit witnessed by Spirit.
The area near the Home Plate is made of basaltic rock which shows that water might have been mixed with magma underneath the Martian ground. It is being said that basaltic rock may have caused explosion when it came in contact with water and the steam pressure must have caused it to go boom. The rocks also have high chlorine content which states that basalt might have come into contact with salt water or brine. These findings have been published in the journal science.
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Via foxnews
