So lots of sulfates, all over the surface, and Ca sulfates among them, eh? Like gypsum, presumably? Great! It should be easy to mine and then we can set up a Martian drywall factory. Not diamonds or gold but, boy, they sure sell it by the truckload at Home Depot!

Before you laugh too hard, consider what people on this board would pay to have their living room wall made of old Martian sediments.... :)

Seriously, thanks for the summary Nick, that is hugely helpful. I would SO rather have been there than the conference I was at this weekend, but it's my own damn fault for getting lazy and switching to political science rather than sticking it out in astronomy.