Lands with fertile soil, useful minerals, navigable waterways, proximity to trade routes and easy energy sources enjoy a leg up over groups inhabiting less fortunate locales.

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Other former coffee-plantation land, high in the mountains where the soil is rich in volcanic minerals, remains overgrown with weeds and contains barren trees.

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Using X-ray diffraction will not only tell scientists what kinds of minerals are present in Martian soil, it will also provide clues to what conditions existed on Mars when those crystals formed.

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The impact will not, however, be sufficiently energetic to melt the lunar soil and release any water that is bound in hydrated minerals.

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On thermal satellite images, the soil here seemed to retain its heat unusually well a sign that it might contain clay or other hydrated minerals.

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