Was there alien life in the hot water on Mars billions of years ago? Martian meteorite “Black Beauty”discovered on Earth, not in space, suggests that hydrothermal conditions may have existed on the Red Planet in the past.
Evidence of water in the oldest known Martian crust – the ‘Black Beauty’ meteorite Spacecom
Scientists have discovered what appears to be the earliest direct evidence of hot water on Mars during its ancient period. This discovery could indicate that, despite its arid and desolate appearance today, the Red Planet may have been capable of supporting life long ago.
The evidence reached Earth, sealed in the famous Martian meteorite NWA7034 (NWA – Northwest Africa), found in the Sahara Desert in 2011. Due to its shiny black appearance, the Martian rock is also known as “Black Beauty” – “Black Beauty”.
With an estimated age of 2 billion years, “Black Beauty” it is the second oldest Martian meteorite ever discovered. However, the Curtin University team discovered something even older inside: a 4.45-billion-year-old zircon grain containing traces of water-rich fluids.
“Our findings suggest that Mars also had water”
Aaron Cavosie, a member of the team at Curtin University’s School of Planetary and Earth and Planetary Sciences in Australia, believes that this discovery will open new directions in understanding the hydrothermal systems associated with the activity of volcanic magma that once circulated on Mars.
“We used nanoscale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of hot water on Mars 4.45 billion years ago. Hydrothermal vents were essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings suggest that Mars also had wateran essential ingredient for habitable environments since the earliest periods of crustal formation,” Cavosie said in a statement.
The Martian meteorite NWA7034 Black Beauty discovered in the Sahara Collage DMS
Cavosie added that the team identified specific elements in this unique fragment of zircon using nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, techniques that allow analysis of the objects’ chemical composition. Among the elements identified are iron, aluminum, yttrium and sodium.
“These elements were added as the zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting that water was present at the time of early magmatic activity on Mars.”Cavosie also said.
“The first and only zircon of its kind known on Mars”
Evidence of watercourses and ancient lakes on Mars previously led scientists to theorize that large amounts of liquid water existed on the Red Planet about 4.1 billion years ago. This was during the Noachian period, when the water-covered Martian surface was heavily bombarded by asteroids.
Mars is thought to have lost its water billions of years ago when its atmosphere was destroyed by intense solar radiation. Thus, the disappearance of the Martian atmosphere made it impossible to maintain water, which evaporated and disappeared into space.
The new research suggests, however, that liquid water may have existed on Mars earlier than previously thought, during the planet’s pre-Noachian period. “A 2022 study by Curtin University showed that the same zircon fragment was ‘shocked’ by a meteorite impact, making it the first and only zircon of its kind known on Mars,” Cavosie explained.
“Geochemical Markers of Water in the Oldest Known Martian Crust”7
In the scientific context, the term “shocked” refers to a geological process in which a mineral, such as zircon, is subjected to extremely high pressure, usually due to an impact with a meteorite or other cosmic object. This type of impact can produce structural and chemical changes to the mineral, leaving visible traces or “signatures” that can be detected by researchers. usually “the shock” of a mineral is translated by changes in crystallization or by the appearance of defects in its crystalline structure, which are signs of an intense force applied to it.
So when a zircon fragment is said to have been “shocked”means that that zircon was affected by an impact with a meteorite, and the traces of this impact were preserved in the mineral. This phenomenon is important to researchers because it can provide information about events that took place on Mars in its geological past.
“This new research helps us better understand early Mars by identifying clear signs of water-rich fluids from the time of grain formation, while also providing geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust.” the scientist also mentioned.
The research by the Curtin University team was published late last week in Journal of Science Advances.
