The 3D discovery in Gale Crater is one of Curiosity’s most surprising discoveries during its decade-long exploration of Mars.

Kirsten Sebat, a researcher on NASA’s Mars team, tells this in a new way Report in Earth and planar science messages.

After the discovery in 2016, Seebach and her colleagues examined all 3D objects found on Earth. It is mainly found in rock materials in Germany, Italy and France and has limited use in sandblasting materials.

After a thorough search, the following theory emerged.

The magma beneath a volcano on Mars may have undergone a partial cooling process, known as partial crystallization, that includes concentrated silicon as a residual product. During an eruption, the volcano spewed silica ash into Gale Crater and the surrounding area. The ashes were then crushed, and eventually the remaining minerals were separated from each other, including a three-dimensional block that separated from the silicon.

Wetter and maybe warmer

It is also believed that this event on Mars caused other chemical phenomena, such as aluminum oxide, which was also found in 2016.

If the volcanic eruption theory is correct, and everything indicates that, this eruption occurred three billion years ago, when Mars changed from a wetter and possibly warmer planet to a dry and cold planet as it is today.

The investigation of the triple discovery also proves that Mars has a much more complex and exciting volcanic history than was thought before the Curiosity rover began its exploration.

NASA investigated Gale Crater because the space agency suspected that the crater was a river a billion years ago.