NASA is investing half a million dollars to study the range of textures on the surface of Mars.
Researchers from Idaho State University plan to analyze the Red Planet's topography to understand how volcanic eruptions shaped Mars' surface, the Associated Press reported. A $500,000 investment from NASA will help to fund the study.
"We're trying to understand the textures," said volcanologist Shannon Kobs-Nawotniak, as quoted by the AP. She will be working with a team from ISU's Department of Geosciences to analyze 618 square miles of lava flows on Mars that are estimated to have been formed between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.
"We can use the data to understand how much water had to interact to cause the explosions," Kobs-Nawotniak said of the team's specialized equipment, which will be used to create a micro-topography of a Mars formation.
"Volcanoes are just plain cool," she said. "I think we're going to get some real cool stuff out of this."
Graduate and undergraduate ISU students will collect data during the next several months that will then be analyzed by the school's super computers. The goal is to put together a timeline of sorts to show how the planet's formations were built through various eruptions and erosions.
Geologically speaking, the volcanic flows on Mars are relatively young, making them easier for scientists to analyze. The team will look at blocks of lava that are more than 130 feet in size.
"We have a lot of lavas that haven't eroded much," Kobs-Nawotniak told the Idaho State Journal.
Following the field work and data analysis, Kobs-Nawotniak will present the findings at the December conference of the American Geological Union in San Francisco.
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