Volcanoes on Other Planets

Curiosity, and the petrogenesis of alkaline igneous rocks on Mars

A few weeks after landing on Mars, the Curiosity rover came across a ~50-cm tall, fine-grained rock, which the MSL team named 'Jake_M' after NASA engineer Jake Matijevic. APXS analysis of Jake_M revealed that it had a major element composition strikingly similar to terrestrial mugearite (a rock type very enriched in alkalis that is typically found at ocean islands and continental rifts). Learn more here.

Image: Selfie by the Curiosity Rover, NASA