Scientists have achieved the biggest success on Mars so far, water reserves discovered on the surface
Scientists have achieved the biggest success in history on Mars. Scientists have discovered the water on Mars, which they were looking for for hundreds of years. After this big discovery of scientists, the possibility of life on Mars has increased. Just as water is present everywhere on Earth. About 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Water is present in the air, on the surface and inside rocks. Geological evidence suggests that water has been present 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 the search on Mars. If life was ever possible on Mars, some amount of water would have been required there. We studied the mineral zircon present in the meteorite from Mars and found that water was present there when the zircon crystal was 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 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 broader context, let’s first consider what “early Mars” means in terms of the Martian geological timeframe, and then consider different ways to search for water on Mars. Like Earth, Mars formed about 4.5 billion years ago. There are four geological periods in the history of Mars. These are the Amazonian (up to 3 billion years ago), the Hesperian (3 billion to 3.7 billion years ago), the Noachian (3.7 billion to 4.1 billion years ago), and the Pre-Noachian (4.1 billion to about 4.5 billion years ago).
Evidence of water on Mars was first found in the 1970s
Evidence of water on Mars was first found in the 1970s, when NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft photographed river valleys on the surface of Mars. Later orbital missions, including Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express, detected the widespread presence of ‘hydrated clay minerals’ on the surface. These require water. Mars’ river valleys and clay minerals are found primarily in Noachian areas, which cover about 45 percent of Mars. In addition, the orbiters also detected large flood drains called ‘outflow channels’ in Hesperian areas. These indicate the short-term presence of water on the surface, perhaps from groundwater. Most reports of water on Mars indicate the presence of water in materials or terrain older than three billion years.
When was water found on Mars
Until recently, there has not been much evidence of stable 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 search for water on Mars. The first way is to use observations made by spacecraft orbiting the surface. The second way is to use ground-based observations, such as those made by the Mars Rover. The third way is to study Martian meteorites that have fallen to Earth, which is what we did. In fact, the only pre-Noachian material we have available to study is found in meteorites that have come from Mars. Fewer than half of all meteorites that have fallen to Earth have come from our neighbouring planet. An even smaller group of these meteorites, thought to have originated from a single asteroid collision with Mars, contain pre-Noachian material.
Ocean exists on Mars
It has also been suggested that Mars may have had an early global ocean as early as 4.45 billion years ago. The big 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 whether this means that water was present on the surface at this time, but we think it is likely. It is clear that Mars, like Earth, had water on its surface shortly after its formation – a necessary ingredient for habitability.
