Scientists used to think that the history of water on Mars was shallow. Hundreds of thousands of rock formations on the Red Planet may have been altered by large amounts of water in the past.
A map of mineral deposits on Mars was created using data from two Mars Orbiters. John Carter is a planetary scientist from theInstitut d'Astrophysique Spatiale in Paris and the author of a paper published in the journal.
The map was created thanks to observations from the European Space Agency and NASA. Scientists only knew of about 1000 rock formations on Mars that have hydrated minerals. Hundreds of thousands of such outcrops can be found on the new map. When studying the ancient terrains in detail, not seeing the minerals is actually the oddest thing.
Various evidence shows that Mars once had flowing water on its surface. It is possible to find aqueous minerals in rocks that have been altered by water in the past. The same minerals are retained when small amounts of water interact with the rocks. If a lot of water interacts with the rocks, it will leave behind more aluminum-rich clays.
Water may have had a bigger role in shaping Mars' geology than previously thought. It is not clear whether the presence of water was consistent over time or if there was an ebb and flow of water on Mars. The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we were led to believe. No one process or simple timelines can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars.
The map shows where more clues can be found. The areas identified here are excellent candidate landing sites for future missions to Mars, and some of them may still be covered in water ice.
There is new research suggesting that Mars is hiding its lost water beneath the surface.
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