Part of NASA\u2019s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project<\/a>, the S.C. Space Grant allows students and professors to apply for funding to research a topic over an academic year. Sleiman received an award for his work studying the magnesium\/calcium ratio in calcite to understand its formation under varying environmental conditions \u2013 including those that theoretically once existed on Mars.<\/p>\n Professor of Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Chris Romanek ’82.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThis is a proposal he wrote himself, so the money goes directly to him,\u201d Furman Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Professor Chris Romanek \u201982<\/a>, Sleiman\u2019s advisor, said.<\/p>\n Sleiman is growing carbonate minerals under tightly controlled conditions, with the hope they will one day be compared to calcites harvested from the surface of Mars by the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover<\/a>. The analysis could determine the past atmospheric and hydrospheric composition of the planet and answer the long-asked question of whether liquid water used to be present on its surface.<\/p>\n \u201cOn paper my research is simple, and it’s been done before by other scientists in different ways. They’ve looked at the partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas as a control factor, and others have just looked at the ratio of aqueous Mg\/Ca as a control factor,\u201d Sleiman said. \u201cI’m looking at everything, and my hope is that if they find calcium carbonate on the surface, they could use my research or research like mine to help determine the past environments in which those calcium carbonates formed.\u201d<\/p>\n The Perseverance rover launched July 28 and is scheduled to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. A different mission (or two) will be launched to eventually retrieve the samples Perseverance collects and return them to Earth.<\/p>\n![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/romanek-150x150-1-1.jpg\")