Perth: Scientists have achieved one of the biggest breakthroughs in history on Mars. Scientists have discovered water on Mars that they have been looking for for hundreds of years. After this great discovery of scientists, the possibility of life on Mars has increased. As water is present everywhere on earth. About 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Water is in the air, on the surface and inside rocks. Geological evidence suggests that water has existed on Earth since about 4.3 billion years ago. But the history of water on Mars has been very uncertain.
Determining when, where, and for how long water first appeared on Mars are all burning questions that drive Mars research. If life were possible on Mars, water would be needed there. We studied the mineral zircon present in Martian meteorites and found that water was present when the zircon crystals formed 4.45 billion years ago. Our results, published today in the journal Science Advances, may provide the oldest evidence of water on Mars.
Mars was formed 4.5 billion years ago
The Red Planet Was Wet It has long been believed that water played an important role in the early history of Mars. To put our results in a broader context, let’s first consider what “early Mars” means in terms of the geological time frame of Mars, and then consider different ways to find water on Mars. Like Earth, Mars was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. There are four geological periods in the history of Mars. These are Amazonian (3 billion years ago), Hesperian (3 billion to 3.7 billion years ago), Noachian (3.7 billion to 4.1 billion years ago) and Pre-Noachian (4.1 billion to about 4.5 billion years ago).
In 1970, evidence of water was first found on Mars
Evidence of water on Mars was first found in the 1970s, when NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft photographed river valleys on the Martian surface. Later orbital missions including Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express discovered the widespread presence of ‘hydrated clay minerals’ on the surface. This requires water. Martian river valleys and clay minerals are found primarily in the Noachian terrain, which covers about 45 percent of Mars. In addition, the orbiter also detected large flood channels known as ‘outflow channels’ in the Hesperian regions. This indicates a short-term presence of water on the surface, perhaps from groundwater. Most reports of water on Mars indicate the presence of water in material or terrain older than three billion years.
When was water found on Mars?
Recently, there has not been much evidence of frozen liquid water on Mars. But what happened during the Pre-Noachian? When did water first appear on Mars? A Glimpse of Pre-Noachian Mars. There are three ways to find water on Mars. The first method is to use observations made by spacecraft orbiting the surface. Another approach is to use ground-based observations, such as those made by the Mars rover. A third way is to study Martian meteorites that have fallen to Earth, which we did. In fact, the only pre-Noachian material available to us to study is found in Martian meteorites. Some of all meteorites that hit Earth come from our neighboring planet. A small group of these meteorites, believed to have come from a single asteroid impact from Mars, contain pre-Noachian material.
Mars has an ocean
It was also suggested that Mars may have had an early global ocean as early as 4.45 billion years ago. The bigger picture from our study is that magmatic hydrothermal systems were active during the initial formation of the Martian surface 4.45 billion years ago. It is not clear if this means that water was still on the surface at this time, but we think it is possible. It is clear that the surface of Mars, like Earth, had water on its surface soon after its formation – an essential ingredient for habitation. (conversation)
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