Research into geology and rocks

I need to conduct some research into geology and rocks in order to gain a better understanding of these subjects which will in turn, help me to plan out Angela Delacroix's (Carnelia's mother) occupation as a scientist (specialised in geology).

I will be trying to read more about this subject and possibly watch some documentaries and take down some notes. 

CHANGE IN POV: 

Also, I have decided to shift my point of view and instead of writing in the POV of Carnelia, I will now be writing in the POV of her mother, Angela. I have done this because it will provide my readers with more background information and will give them insight into what motivated her to sign NASA's contract and give up her daughter. Writing as Carnelia would've been very limiting as she doesn't know anything about her mother's reasons. 

https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/science/goal3/ : 

''Rocks on Mars Can Tell Us About the Planet's History and Its Potential for Harboring Life

Of fundamental importance are the age and composition of different types of rocks on the Martian surface. Geologists use the age of rocks to determine the sequence of events in a planet's history. Composition information tells them what happened over time.''

Rocks that have been currently found on Mars: (source: https://geology.com/stories/13/rocks-on-mars/) and https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/msl/pia19818/vista-from-curiosity-shows-crossbedded-martian-sandstone [input images later] 

Mudstone: First discovered by NASA's Rover Curiosity in 2015. Made up of a laminated structure and fine-grained sediments that were once deposited in water for a long period of time. Long enough that allowed the sediments to accumulate a significant thickness. 

Sandstone: Also discovered by NASA's Rover Curiosity in 2015. The image shows sandstone deposits found on Mount Sharp on Mars. These rocks also resemble a laminated structure that lie at angles from each other commonly called cross bedding. This is also common in wind-deposited sandstones in South West United States like Utah. 

Shale: Thinly-layered rocks, very similar to shales on Earth were discovered on the Gale Crater of Mars in 2012. They are fine-grained and fissile (easily breakable into thin sheets). Rocks on Earth that break this way are usually made up of clay minerals or mica grains that settled out of an aqueous suspension. Their plate-shaped grains deposited on the bottom in a parallel orientation. This gives the rock the ability to be split into thin layers. Clay minerals are known to be abundant on Mars, so it is likely that these rocks are composed of clay minerals. 

Conglomerate: Discovered in 2012 by Mars' Curiosity Rover. A rock very similar to the conglomerates found on Earth. The pebbles below the rock are clasts that have been weathered from the rock. The photo on the right is a conglomerate outcrop from Earth to show similarity. The presence of conglomerate and sandstones on Mars is evidence of moving water. Wind is not strong enough to pick up pebbles over one centimeter in diameter and carry them along in the current.The red color is thought to be iron staining, which is nearly ubiquitous on Mars and gives it the name "Red Planet." The "cement" that binds the particles in these rocks could be a sulfate mineral.

Columnar basalt: Rocks in the shape of columnar basalt were found on Mars. This kind of rock can be found in the Devil's Post Pile National Monument in California. 

Meteorite: The 'heat shield rock' was the first meteorite discovered on another planet (other than Earth) by NASA's Exploration Rover Opportunity in 2005. It was made of a combination of iron and nickel. 

Scoria: Large pieces of volcanic rock were discovered on Mars that resembled the rock scoria on Earth. It was first found by the Spirit Rover. The rock has a rough surface and vesicles like scoria. 

Common elements found on Mars:

Silicon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, aluminium, calcium and potassium. These elements are major components in the development of igneous rocks. 

Characters

Exploring character names and their significance...

Main character name ideas:
Ruby
Beryl/Berylle
Carnelia (taken from the gemstone Carnelian) ** really liking this one for now
Sienna

I would like her to have a name that has associations with the colour red as she was born on the red planet, Mars.

Other characters:

Teen Martian boy name ideas...

Final Project Idea

My Final Project idea is to write a sci-fi novella of 15,000 words.

Plot idea:

A group of eight scientists/geniuses are sent by NASA to embark on a one-way trip to Mars in an attempt to build settlements and live on Mars as the first humans - (this is inspired by the Mars One mission, due to take off in 2024).

The scientists are explicitly told that there would be no life on Mars and that it is uninhabited. However, once the settlers arrive they find signs of Martian life. The scientists demand to return to Earth but are denied this opportunity by NASA. Instead, they are ordered to eradicate the Martians, horrified, the scientists refuse but are forced to comply with their orders once their family's lives on Earth are threatened. A war ensues with the Martians, leading to a mass number of them being murdered, the remaining few retreat in hiding, never to be seen again.

Meanwhile, one of the female scientists discovers she is pregnant shortly upon reaching Mars. She is encouraged to terminate the pregnancy by her team due to the great risk of complications associated with giving birth on Mars. She refuses and decides to give birth to her child. Miraculously, she gives birth to a healthy little girl. She is nicknamed the 'Mars miracle' and forced by NASA to live inside a space pod for the rest of her life. However, once reaching sixteen years of age, NASA have a change of plan and demand to have the child sent back to Earth for research purposes. On the day of her departure, the youngster manages to escape and ventures outside for the first time. She discovers a teen Martian who kidnaps her and takes her to his clan who decide what to do with the human teen. The Elders decide to murder her by stripping her of her space suit, enabling her to suffocate to death, although by some miracle, the youngster's body is not affected by the lack of oxygen and nothing happens. Astounded, the Martians ask her who she is and she tells them she is a human who was born on Mars. Her body has become versatile, meaning she can survive without a space suit in both carbon dioxide and oxygen rich atmospheres. The Martian teen who originally kidnapped her soon befriends her and tells her how her people murdered his species several years ago. Shocked by this revelation and driven by her hate of NASA, she promises to help them win back their planet. 

First blog post

This blog will be my third year Media and Creative Writing, Final Major Project blog and will contain all of my research notes which will be submitted as part of my third year compulsory assessment component.

It will contain notes on various inspirations, documentaries, character notes and any further research that I have done that have helped me form my final portfolio, which will be a 15,000 word sci-fi novella.