Scientist licks 3.5 billion years old Martian rock after Twitter starts petition; watch

A budding scientist from Texas, Kyle Morgenstein for the first time, licked a Martian rock sample and had a firsthand experience of what rocks at Mars “taste like” after he complied with the request of his Twitter followers. Morgenstein, who holds a prestigious degree in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took to his official Twitter handle to share the glimpse of the 3.5 billion-year-old rock from the Red Planet, responding to the request of popular comedian and staff writer for TheDad, Andrew Nadeau who asked Morgenstein to show the space rock to the enthusiasts. Shortly after the Texan scientist shared the photograph, Twitter excitedly filed a rather unusual petition with 163 signatures, asking Morgenstein to taste the rock. 

An astrophile Michael Harris started a GoFundMe for the request, which read: "Kyle has a space rock. I, and many others, want Kyle to lick the space rock. Lick the Space Rock Kyle! I will use these funds to send Kyle a package of mint Tick tack and a nice card. Lick the Space Rock Kyle.” The campaign, to scientist’s much surprise, raised $10. The reluctant Morgenstein, eventually took to his Twitter to share the video of himself licking the rock as he told his petitioners, “Fine, y’all win.” In the video that he posted of himself tasting the Martian sample, Morgenstein even left feedback saying that the rock “needs some salt.” Geophysicist Mika McKinnon, in a report had earlier estimated that the Mars surface could taste “bland with a hint of bloody seawater” as the rocks comprise of basalt, iron-rich minerals, and perchlorates. 

'Nothing toxic' about Mars surface

NASA’s Phoenix lander's first taste test of soil near Mars' north pole also revealed that there’s “nothing about it that's toxic” according to the statement made by mission scientist Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University.  NASA’s chemists tested the pinch of Martian dirt collected by Phoenix's 8-foot-long arm that they stirred in a cup to test soil's pH and nutrients via sensors. It was found that the Martian surface’s soil had a pH between 8 and 9, anything that exceeded 9 would taste acidic. “Mars rocks are very typical of what’s found here on Earth minus the organics," Kounaves told a teleconference from Tucson, Arizona.