NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered intriguing green stains on Mars that may indicate the presence of ancient hot springs, suggesting the planet could have once supported life.
Researchers from Curtin University in Australia analyzed a sample from the meteorite known as 'La Belleza Negra,' composed of a material called zircon. Their findings date the sample to approximately 4.45 billion years ago, a time frame similar to Earth's formation.
Notably, the analysis revealed traces of water within the zircon grain, pointing to the existence of hot water on Mars. Experts believe these hot springs were heated by magma beneath the planet's crust, akin to hydrothermal systems that played a crucial role in life’s evolution on Earth.
Dr. Aaron Cavosie, a co-author of the study, stated that the use of nanoscale geochemistry provided evidence of warm water on Mars during its early history. He noted, 'Hydrothermal systems were essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings suggest Mars also had water, a key ingredient for habitable environments, during the earliest crust formation.'
Through nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the team identified elemental patterns in the zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium, and sodium. These elements were incorporated when the zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, indicating water presence during early Martian magmatic activity.
This study advances our understanding of early Mars by revealing signs of water-rich fluids from the time the zircon was formed, providing geochemical markers of the oldest known Martian crust.