Is There Life on Mars? Key NASA Discovery
- "the basic question of why Mars is red has been studied for hundreds, if not thousands, of years," said Adam Valantinas, lead author of the study and a...
- Ferrihydrite, a mineral rich in iron and water, forms in the presence of cold water and at lower temperatures than other iron compounds like hematite.
- Geronimo Villanueva, associate director for Strategic Science at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasized the significance of the discovery.
NASA researchers have found strong evidence that Mars was once a much wetter, possibly habitable planet. Their analysis of iron oxides on the Martian surface suggests liquid water existed there billions of years ago, challenging the current understanding of the red planet as a consistently arid and cold world.
Could Life Exist on Mars?
“the basic question of why Mars is red has been studied for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” said Adam Valantinas, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University. “From our analysis, we believe ferrihydrite is found everywhere in the dust, and also likely in rocky formations.”
Ferrihydrite, a mineral rich in iron and water, forms in the presence of cold water and at lower temperatures than other iron compounds like hematite. Valantinas explained, “What we know from this study is that the evidence points to the formation of ferrihydrite, and for that to happen, there have to be conditions where oxygen from the air, or other sources, and water can react with iron. Those conditions were very different from the dry, cold surroundings of today.”
NASA’s Search for Life on mars
Geronimo Villanueva, associate director for Strategic Science at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasized the significance of the discovery. “These new findings point to a potentially habitable past for Mars and highlight the value of coordinated investigations,” he stated.