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Caltech Geochemist Makes Mars-Rock Dating Possible

By Innovate Pasadena Staff — December 17, 2013

Until now, the age of interplanetary rocks could only be determined in sophisticated labs on earth. Thanks to a novel idea from Caltech geochemist Ken Farley, the Curiosity rover was able to date Martian rocks on-site. Farley was among 29 scientists who, in 2011, NASA invited to design (relatively) last-minute experiments that the rover could conduct once it arrived on the red planet. The journal Science Express recently published the historic results of Farley’s experiments--all based on data collected and analyzed right on Mars.

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