About 3,000 million years ago, the many rivers and ponds that populated the Martian surface began their evaporation process. This event took place after the loss of the atmosphere of Mars, which triggered catastrophic processes that shaped the red planet we know today. Today, although we can no longer see masses of water on its surface, researchers have created a map that will help you know where it was eons ago.
The map has been developed after a decade of research using data collected by the THIS and NASA. His intention is to answer one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the red planet, which is find out how widespread water was in its past.
But why is it important to know where there was water on Mars? Well, as you already know, the search for life in other corners of the universe has been a task in which human beings have invested a lot of time, money and energy. Water, for its part, is necessary for the development of life as we know it. This is why, knowing in which places there were concentrations of this liquid, scientists can better focus the search for living organisms. Or at least signs that they were once there.
This is, in fact, what NASA’s Perseverance rover is doing on Mars. The robot has already collected samples from the Jezero Crater, one of the points on the planet with the highest concentrations of hydrated minerals. Soon, we could give an answer to the great mystery about life on the red planet.
What do we see in this multicolored map
Although the map doesn’t exactly show the bodies of water on Mars, it does offer even more interesting detail. Specifically, it focuses on determining where the rock formations whose current properties could have been determined by water.
“This work has shown that when you’re studying ancient terrain in detail, not seeing these minerals is, in fact, the rarity,” says John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale in Paris. Carter is also the lead author of the research.
In red, we can see the water-soluble clays on the planet, while green represents the hydrated sulfates. The orange and blue, for their part, indicate the location of the carbonated salts and the hydrated clays of silica and aluminosilicates, respectively.
The work took a decade to complete, and they used data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance orbiters, and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express. Before this research, scientists were only aware of about a thousand rock formations with hydrated minerals. Today, however, hundreds of thousands of locations are known where the water could have had a significant impact.
How have these materials reached the surface of Mars?
Although today Mars is a planet well known for its aridity, billions of years ago the situation was not the same. In fact, recent studies show that there was water flowing on its surface.
Water, meanwhile, contains aqueous minerals inside. What does this mean? That, after interacting with rocks in the past, these would have altered their chemical compositions due to the presence of the liquid. Thus, they end up becoming clays or salts.
If the amount of water that interacts with the rock is too small, it is not capable of substantially changing its composition, maintaining its original volcanic state. On the other hand, if the presence of water is much greater, soluble elements found in rocks begin to dissolveleaving behind aluminum-rich clays.
Of course, there is still much work to be done. The map cannot provide all the answers to the researchers’ questions. Nevertheless, is the perfect starting point from which new research can be launched about the past of our neighboring planet, and possible future second home planet.