NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars apparently discovered new mineral veins that could indicate flowing, liquid water on the surface of the planet, where a new chemical analysis was released revealing clues about Martian evolution.

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This region where the mineral site was found is known as "Garden City" which is located in a basin that is believed to hold a lake on the base of Mount Sharp. The mineral veins have formed through the rock, breaking it up, which indicates that minerals from water was deposited in the rock, as it moves within the formations.

This discovery is not entirely new to mission scientists however, these mineral veins suggest that liquid water that has been continuously flowing on the Red Planet.

Using Curiosity rover's ChemCam's laser, it zapped 17 targets to analyze the chemical composition which is inaccessible by the rover's drill.

According to Diana Blaney from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, this rock specimen is actually the most extreme chemistry the team has ever observed in this very much localized area on Mars. There are also other places on Mars that have strong chemistry but in this meter square area, this is evidence of much mineral variability and unexpected chemistry. 

Chemical analysis reveals that the mineral veins contain calcium sulfate that included fluorine, magnesium sulfate or iron. Blaney adds that in Garden City, this area shows good preservation, that reveals chemical signatures from other places, indicating distinct fluids.

Since there are different chemistries in this area, this is considered as strong evidence of distinct fluid events. To date, the mission team still cannot pinpoint an exact timeline when these fluid events occurred or what is causing them but further analysis and research can reveal these with the help of these chemical compositions. Curiosity is currently exploring other regions of Mount Sharp.

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