Word: duracrust
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...once wet. Water rising to the surface or sinking down from above could have caused the dirt to congeal, perhaps leaving salty deposits that help hold it together. The Viking probes investigated similar-looking callused patches back in 1976. Investigators on those missions dubbed the features duracrust. The science team working this trip is eager to dig around in the stuff...
...duracrust gave new relevance to a study published in 2000 by microbiologist Russell Vreeland of Pennsylvania's West Chester University. Vreeland discovered some 250 million-year-old salt crystals in New Mexico that contained tiny quantities of ancient water. The water held preserved spores that sprang back to life once their salt and nutrient levels were adjusted. Whether this is possible in the punishing, radiation-soaked environment of Mars is hard to say, but it certainly makes anything that hints at salt worth a closer look...
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