Mars Meteorite Reveals New Evidence That Hot Water Flowed on Ancient Mars (space.com)
(Sunday November 24, 2024 @11:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the message-in-a-rock dept.)
- Reference: 0175530657
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/11/24/0337254/mars-meteorite-reveals-new-evidence-that-hot-water-flowed-on-ancient-mars
- Source link: https://www.space.com/mars-hot-water-alien-life-past
"Scientists have found what seems to be the oldest direct evidence of hot water flowing on Mars during its ancient past," [1]reports Space.com .
"The discovery could further indicate that the Red Planet, despite its arid and desolate appearance today, may have been capable of supporting life long ago."
> The evidence was delivered to Earth and sealed within the well-known Martian meteorite NWA7034, found in the Sahara Desert in 2011. Due to its black, highly polished appearance, the Martian rock is also known [2]as "Black Beauty ." At an estimated 2 billion years old, Black Beauty is the second oldest Martian meteorite ever discovered. However, the Curtin University team discovered something even older within it: a 4.45 billion-year-old zircon grain that harbors the fingerprints of fluids rich in water.
>
> Team member Aaron Cavosie from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences thinks this discovery will open up new avenues to understanding [3]hydrothermal systems associated with the activity of volcanic magma that once ran through Mars. "We used nano-scale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of hot water on Mars 4.45 billion years ago," Cavosie said in a statement. "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 history of crust formation...."
>
> [T]his new research implies that water in liquid form may have existed on Mars even earlier than previously expected in the planet's pre-Noachian period.
[1] https://www.space.com/mars-hot-water-alien-life-past
[2] https://www.space.com/mars-meteorite-origin-identified
[3] https://www.space.com/5374-hydrothermal-vents-mars-supported-life.html
"The discovery could further indicate that the Red Planet, despite its arid and desolate appearance today, may have been capable of supporting life long ago."
> The evidence was delivered to Earth and sealed within the well-known Martian meteorite NWA7034, found in the Sahara Desert in 2011. Due to its black, highly polished appearance, the Martian rock is also known [2]as "Black Beauty ." At an estimated 2 billion years old, Black Beauty is the second oldest Martian meteorite ever discovered. However, the Curtin University team discovered something even older within it: a 4.45 billion-year-old zircon grain that harbors the fingerprints of fluids rich in water.
>
> Team member Aaron Cavosie from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences thinks this discovery will open up new avenues to understanding [3]hydrothermal systems associated with the activity of volcanic magma that once ran through Mars. "We used nano-scale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of hot water on Mars 4.45 billion years ago," Cavosie said in a statement. "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 history of crust formation...."
>
> [T]his new research implies that water in liquid form may have existed on Mars even earlier than previously expected in the planet's pre-Noachian period.
[1] https://www.space.com/mars-hot-water-alien-life-past
[2] https://www.space.com/mars-meteorite-origin-identified
[3] https://www.space.com/5374-hydrothermal-vents-mars-supported-life.html
Re: (Score:2)
by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 )
Somehow we just can't put this to the test by send a rover to the polls.
Fascinating, but not news (Score:2)
by Geoffrey.landis ( 926948 )
This result is fascinating, and it is good science... but it is not news that evidence of warm water has been found on Mars.
Back in 2007, the Spirit rover found hydrothermal deposits at the [1]Home Plate [wikipedia.org] formation in Gusev Crater, clear evidence that hot springs had existed at the site.
[2]https://www.planetary.org/arti... [planetary.org]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Plate_(Mars)
[2] https://www.planetary.org/articles/04-30-mer-update-1
Dispatches from the Red Planet (Score:2)
by phantomfive ( 622387 )
Breaking transmission from Red Eter.
The Council of Elders announced that they have plugged up the warm bath water of K'Breel. All inquiries should be directed to K'Breel Jr.
End transmission.
Life (Score:1)
So the life on Earth came from Mars… Problem solved.
Re: (Score:2)
I was kicked-out of church when I asked, Who made God?