Mars: Pale Stones Suggest Ancient Tropical Paradise

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A light white stone on the Red Planet. On our planet, geological formations of this kind only come to be following eons of temperate and damp circumstances.(Image credit: NASA)ShareShare by:

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Mars once contained moist, humid locations that underwent significant rainfall, akin to equatorial zones on Earth, according to new research focusing on oddly bleached rocks.

Investigators were captivated by distinctive pale rocks that the NASA rover, Perseverance, came across on the Martian terrain. Following a more detailed assessment, the rocks proved to be kaolinite, a form of clay abundant in aluminum, the scientists indicated in their study, released on December 1 within the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Kaolinite on Earth nearly always arises in very hot, moist surroundings, for example within tropical rainforests. It usually develops in rocks from which other minerals have been cleared by prolonged contact with recurring rainfall. Nevertheless, the Mars of today is notoriously frigid and arid.

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“Therefore, locating kaolinite in a spot like Mars, recognized for being barren, cold, and devoid of surface liquid water, implies that there was considerably more water present historically,” Adrian Broz, a soil specialist from Purdue University and the study’s primary writer, noted in a declaration.

Broz alongside his collaborators analyzed the structure of the Martian kaolinite, utilizing data gathered by multiple Perseverance tools, comparing it to terrestrial samples sourced from both South Africa and San Diego. The similarities between the rocks were highly noticeable, proposing comparable developmental conditions.

Orbital images of Mars appear to display more sizeable deposits of kaolinite elsewhere across the planet. Nevertheless, Perseverance alongside other rovers have yet to investigate these locales.

Three orbital images exhibiting possible kaolin clay minerals situated within the Jezero crater region (A – C). The illustration portrays the reflectance spectrum exhibited by Mars rocks in comparison to kaolinite present on Earth (D).

“Until we are able to reach and examine these extensive surface features utilizing the rover, these limited rock discoveries represent our sole direct evidence,” Briony Horgan, a Purdue University planetary expert and co-author, expressed in a declaration.

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The discovery of kaolinite upon Mars augments backing for the proposition that the Red Planet once behaved as a humid refuge sometime far in its history, though the explicit timings and mechanisms of its desertification are still under contention.

The prevailing explanations propose that the planet surrendered its water at some point around 3 to 4 billion years in the past, the point at which its magnetic safeguard became sufficiently weak for solar emissions to eliminate its atmosphere. Although, this occurrence was predictably intricate and varied. Examining these ancient clays might furnish scientists with greater insight on the timing and process via which Mars relinquished its water, the investigators conveyed.

Furthermore, it may reveal insights into the prospect of habitability on Mars, stated Broz, given that “all forms of life depend on water.”

Joanna ThompsonSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor

Joanna Thompson serves as a science journalist and jogger based out of New York. She completed her B.S. in Zoology alongside a B.A. in Creative Writing at North Carolina State University, in addition to achieving a Master’s degree within Science Journalism stemming from NYU’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. Discover more articles authored by her featured in Scientific American, The Daily Beast, Atlas Obscura or Audubon Magazine.

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