14.13 - Mars Rovers

Figure 33 – From “A Fossil Hunters Guide to Mars” – whelk shell
Above - what appears to be a whelk shell in the sand. This is a stereo view showing the curve and the
broken section. The long portion like a quill corresponds to the structure inside a terrestrial whelk.
This is in the same image frame as the shell above. Many such shells are found in both Gusev and
Meridiani.
Figure 34 – From “A Fossil Hunters Guide to Mars” – comparison with terrestrial whelk
Above - the left image is a terrestrial whelk shell, the right image is cropped from the Sol 913 image
from above. There is little doubt that the shapes of these two objects are identical or nearly so.
The “Fossil Hunters Guide To Mars” concludes,
Spirit seems to be in an area that had numerous species that are very similar to terrestrial marine
organisms, both past and present. There are many sea shells, some apparent urchins, crinoids,
stromatolites, and what may be bones of larger animals such as reptiles (although that is speculative
at this time). Altogether it creates an image of a Mars that supported a large population of diverse
organisms, but in all they appear to be aquatic and not land dwelling. This would be consistent with
the thin atmosphere and poor shielding from the radiation environment.
More in-depth exploration will be needed on the planet to determine what part, if any, that land
organisms played in this lost ecosystem.
The question which arises is,
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