Bioplastic vessels in chambers mimicking Martian conditions
Wordsworth et al., Sci. Adv. 11, EADP4985
Future habitats on Mars could support operations utilizing algae grown locally. Initial experiments have demonstrated a functional circulation system simulating Martian conditions in the lab, aiding future explorers in establishing habitats on the Red Planet.
What materials will you take to Mars for this initiative? Robin Wordsworth from Harvard University has created flask-like bioclastic vessels using various algae, small bioreactors, 3D printers, and plant materials. According to Wordsworth, they cultivate algae within these vessels, employ bioreactors to convert the algae into further bioplastic material, and use 3D printing to produce more algae containers.
“The objective is to utilize materials to create habitats sourced from biology. We can develop self-sustaining systems,” he states. Wordsworth and his team have successfully demonstrated the initial phase of this cycle.
They cultivated green algae, Dunaliella tertiolecta, in a vessel made from 1 millimeter thick PLA bioplastic. Each container was placed in a simulated Martian environment, where conditions replicated approximately 0.6% of Earth’s atmospheric pressure, with over 98% carbon dioxide in the air. Over a span of 10 days, researchers observed algae growth and photosynthesis rates comparable to those found in more Earth-like settings.
The concept of 3D-printed bioplastic habitats originated about a decade ago, but new experiments indicate their potential to sustain life, according to Amor Menezes at the University of Florida. “This is thrilling. Our journey to Mars and the duration of stay will last several years, meaning we cannot transport everything,” he explains. “This suggests that bioplastics may feasibly support living under Martian-like conditions, and many essential items during their stay could be bioplastic-based.”
The team’s achievements were the result of several years of testing various container designs and bacterial strains, as explained by team member Rafid Quayum from Harvard University. “Physicists, engineers, and planetary scientists collaborated to bring our minds together and enhance our external environment’s habitability,” he shares.
Looking ahead, the team aims to incorporate more extraterrestrial elements into their experiments, testing materials in a vacuum to simulate atmosphere-free environments found on other planets and moons, as well as launching them into low-Earth orbit spacecraft.
“This presents a genuinely compelling and fundamental research question, essential for enabling human habitation beyond Earth in the future.”
Mars may appear spherical, yet it is actually a triaxial ellipsoid. Unlike the other rocky planets in our solar system, which resemble rugby balls, Mars varies in size along all three axes.
This is most apparent in the notable bulge of the Tharsis rise region and the contrasting region known as Sirtis Major.
Astronomer Dr. Michael Efroysky of the US Navy Observatory recently proposed that this peculiar shape may be attributed to the absence of an ancient moon on Mars.
The moon, named Nerio after the Roman goddess of war, who was associated with Mars, influenced the shape of the planet through tidal forces, similar to the oceans here on Earth.
However, once Mars cooled down, its deformed shape became permanently fixed.
Mars is roughly half the size of Earth, with a diameter of 6,790km (4,219 miles) compared to Earth’s 12,750km (7,922 miles) – Credit: Mark Garlic via Getty/Science Photo Library
Nerio’s tidal stress weakened the elevated regions of Mars, facilitating the impact of geological processes such as internal convection, structural shifts, and volcanic activity, all of which contributed to Mars’ asymmetrical shape.
Researchers propose that, in synchronous orbit around Mars, Nerio—being less than a third of Earth’s mass—could easily have formed the planet’s initial triaxial shape. The equatorial bulge would have been even more pronounced if Nerio had existed during the planet’s magma ocean phase.
Currently, Mars lacks such a moon, having only the small moons Deimos and Phobos. At some point, Nerio was either destroyed by another large body or pulled away by gravitational forces.
This article answers the question posed by Otto Sykes in an email: “Why does Mars have such a strange shape?”
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Recent observations suggest the existence of a volcanic formation at the edge of Mars’ Jezero Crater, currently under investigation by NASA’s rover. This rover might already be collecting samples from materials expelled during an ancient volcanic eruption.
Perseverance, which landed in Jezero Crater in 2021, is methodically moving toward the western edge, tracing an ancient river that is believed to have flowed between 300 million and 4 billion years ago.
The rover is gathering samples meant to be returned to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return mission planned for the 2030s. However, this endeavor faces potential cuts proposed by the Trump administration affecting NASA’s funding.
Some of the materials in the samples were thought to be volcanic, showcasing characteristics of lava flow. Recently, James Ray from Georgia Tech in Atlanta and his team have identified a possible volcanic structure at Jezero Mons—a dormant volcano situated on the southeastern edge of Jezero.
High-resolution images from Martian orbiters have revealed fine-grained materials in the vicinity, possibly indicating ash from the volcano. The dimensions and shape of Jezero Mons—21 km wide and 2 km high—parallel those of similar volcanoes on Earth.
“The evidence for igneous volcanoes is most consistent with our observations,” states Ray, noting that magma may have originated from beneath the surface. “This is the strongest case we can make without physically visiting the site.”
By analyzing the craters near the volcano, Ray and his colleagues estimate that Jezero Mons may have last erupted around a billion years ago.
This finding suggests that the rover might have collected volcanic samples. If they can be returned to Earth, scientists would be able to accurately date volcanic activity on another planet for the first time.
“Knowing when that volcano was active is incredibly exciting,” exclaimed Briony Hogan from Purdue University in Indiana, a member of the rover’s science team. This information could significantly enhance our understanding of “how the interiors of planets evolve over time,” she adds.
Ideally, Ray mentions that he hopes to direct Perseverance to the volcano itself, but acknowledges this may not be feasible. “There are really fascinating ancient rocks to the west of the crater, so they’re likely driving in the opposite direction,” he explains. “I can’t blame them.”
In their recent study, planetary scientist Nina Lanza and her team at the Los Alamos National Laboratory explored the necessary steps to transform Mars’ surface into a more Earthlike environment, and what actions are required now if we aspire to make the Red Planet capable of sustaining human life in the future.
Impressions of terraformed Mars artists. Image credits: Daein Ballard/CC by-sa 3.0.
“Believe it or not, since 1991, there has been no comprehensive examination of Mars’ viability for terraforming,” stated Dr. Lanza.
“Since that time, we have made remarkable progress in Mars science, geoengineering, launch capabilities, and bioscience.”
Terraforming Mars involves warming its atmosphere and enabling engineered microorganisms to generate oxygen through photosynthesis.
“We need to confront the actual requirements, costs, and potential risks before determining whether the effort to warm Mars is worthwhile, as opposed to the alternative of preserving it as a pristine wilderness,” the researchers noted.
The research paper discusses current understanding of Mars’ water, carbon dioxide, soil composition, and potential strategies to raise Mars’ surface temperature, enhance atmospheric pressure, and increase oxygen levels.
Innovative methods have been developed that could elevate Mars’ average global temperature by several tens of degrees.
Research priorities should focus on understanding the fundamental physical, chemical, and biological limitations that will influence future decisions regarding Mars. This research could drive advancements in Mars exploration, biological sciences, and atmospheric engineering.
“This work could ultimately aid in maintaining the ‘Oasis Earth’,” the scientist mentioned.
“Technologies developed for Mars habitation, such as drought-resistant crops, efficient soil enhancements, and advanced ecosystem modeling, could also benefit our home planet.”
“Terraforming research on Mars serves as a crucial testbed for planetary science, probing theoretical frameworks and revealing knowledge gaps.”
“Ongoing research promises significant scientific breakthroughs, regardless of whether large-scale terraforming takes place.”
“Until that study is completed, we cannot ascertain what is physically or biologically feasible.”
“If humanity can learn to terraform a planet like Mars, it may pave the way for future exploration beyond our solar system.”
The team’s paper was published in the journal Natural Astronomy on May 13th.
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ea debenedictis et al. 2025. A case study of terraforming on Mars. Nut Athlon 9, 634-639; doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02548-0
Slope stripes are prominent dark markings on Martian slopes that naturally form and can fade over decades. Some planetary scientists interpreted these features as evidence of liquid flows, raising the possibility of a currently habitable environment on Mars. However, recent research by Brown and Bern Universities offers alternative explanations, focusing on drying processes associated with wind and dust activities.
This image captures the impact crater in the Sirenum Fossa region of Mars, taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 30, 2015. The crater is about 3,300 feet (1 km) wide, displaying sharp rims and well-preserved features, indicating a relatively recent origin. The steep inner slope is carved into the gully and exhibits a recurring slope system on equator-facing slopes. Image credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Alfred McEwen.
“A significant focus of contemporary Mars research is understanding active processes on the planet, including the potential presence of liquid water on its surface,” states Dr. Admos Valantinus, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University.
“In our study, we examined these features but found no evidence of water. Our model supports the idea of a dry formation process.”
The unusual stripes were first identified from images sent back by NASA’s Viking mission in the 1970s.
These stripes typically appear darker than the surrounding terrain, stretching across sloped regions that can extend several hundred meters.
While some stripes endure for years or decades, others appear and disappear more rapidly.
The phenomenon known as recurring slope features (RSLs) tends to manifest in the same locations during Mars’ warmest periods.
The origins of these stripes have fueled much debate among planetary scientists.
Seeking new insights, Dr. Valantinus and his colleague Dr. Valentin Bickel employed machine learning algorithms to catalog as many slope streaks as possible.
After training the algorithm on confirmed sightings of slope streaks, it was used to analyze over 86,000 high-resolution satellite images.
The outcome was the first comprehensive global map of slope streaks on Mars, featuring over 500,000 individual streaks.
“With this global map, we can compare it against a database of various factors such as temperature, wind speed, moisture, and rock slide activity,” said Dr. Bickel.
“This enables us to search for correlations across a vast number of cases to better comprehend the conditions under which these features form.”
This extensive analysis indicated that slope stripes and RSLs are generally not linked to conditions that would suggest the presence of liquid or frost, such as specific gradient directions, significant surface temperature fluctuations, or high humidity levels.
Instead, the authors posited that both features are likely to form in areas with moderate wind speeds and dust deposition, consistent with arid origins.
Researchers concluded that these stripes likely arise when fine layers of dust suddenly slide down steep slopes.
Variability in triggering factors was noted. Slope stripes are observed more frequently near recent impact craters where shock waves can disturb loose surface dust, while RSLs tend to be more prevalent in areas affected by dust devils and rockfalls.
Collectively, these findings raise new questions about the viability of slope stripes and RSLs as indicators of habitable environments.
This research holds significant implications for future Mars exploration efforts.
While a habitable environment may seem like an appealing exploration target, NASA aims to be cautious in this regard.
Earthly microorganisms potentially present on spacecraft could contaminate Mars’ habitable zones, complicating the search for extraterrestrial life.
This study suggests that the risk of contamination at slope streak locations is relatively low.
“This demonstrates the advantage of a big data approach,” noted Dr. Valantinas.
“It helps eliminate certain hypotheses from consideration before launching a spacecraft for exploration.”
The results were published on May 19, 2025, in Nature Communications.
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VT Bickel & A. Valantinas. 2025. The streaks on the slopes of Mars are dry. Nature Communications 16, 4315; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-59395-w
Mars exhibits various aurora processes despite its thin atmosphere and absence of global magnetic fields. Previously, all aurora observations have been conducted in ultraviolet wavelengths from orbit. In a recent study, planetary scientists reported the observation of a green visible wavelength aurora, generated from the atomic oxygen line at 557.7 nanometers (nm), detected by NASA’s Perseverance rover using the Supercam and Mastcam-Z instruments.
The first visible image of the green aurora on Mars (left) taken by the NASA Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument. On the right is a comparison image of the night sky on Mars without aurora, featuring the Moon Deimos on Mars. The moonlit Mars night sky, primarily illuminated by the larger moon Phobos (outside the frame), has a reddish-brown tint due to atmospheric dust. Consequently, the addition of green aurora light results in a green-yellow tone in the left image. Image credits: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/ASU/MSSS/SSI.
On Earth, auroras occur when solar particles interact with the magnetic field, colliding with atmospheric gases at the poles and emitting light.
Green, the most frequently observed color, results from excited oxygen atoms emitting light at a wavelength of 557.7 nm.
Researchers have theorized for years that green auroras could also manifest on Mars, but noted they would likely be more diffuse and harder to capture than those on Earth.
Due to the absence of a global magnetic field, Mars experiences a distinct type of aurora compared to Earth.
One such type is the Solar Energy Particle (SEP) Aurorae, identified by NASA’s Maven mission in 2014.
These auroras occur when high-energy particles from the sun impact the Martian atmosphere, leading to a luminous display in the night sky.
“Our findings open up new avenues for aurora research and affirm that future astronauts on Mars could witness these phenomena,” stated Dr. Ellis Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo.
On March 15, 2024, the Sun’s solar flare production and the accompanying coronal mass ejection prompted auroras across the solar system, including Mars, with Perseverance capturing them for the first time from another planet’s surface.
Dr. Knutsen and his team utilized data from SEP instruments on NASA’s Maven spacecraft and ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft to verify the detection.
“They’re actively tracking this,” remarked Dr. Shannon Curry, a researcher at Maven and at the Institute of Atmospheric Astronomy at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“We are thrilled to rapidly advance this observation and look forward to revealing what astronauts might see there.”
By correlating Perseverance’s observations with data from Maven’s SEP instrument, researchers can better analyze the detected 557.7 nm radiation from solar energy particles.
This emission line is identical to the green aurora on Earth, implying that future Mars astronauts may witness this type of aurora.
“The visibility of auroras from Perseverance enables new methods to study these phenomena, complementing orbital observations of Mars,” noted Dr. Katie Stack Morgan, the project scientist for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“A deeper understanding of auroras and the conditions on Mars that facilitate their formation is crucial for preparing to send human explorers there safely.”
The team’s study was published in the journal Advances in Science.
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Elise W. Knutsen et al. 2025. Detection of the visible wavelength aurora on Mars. Advances in Science 11 (20); doi:10.1126/sciadv.ads1563
Mars once boasted a sprawling ocean across its surface. Over time, the magnetic field diminished, the atmosphere thinned, and the water vanished. Yet, the total isn’t accounted for. This water must have disappeared somewhere as the red planet transitioned from a watery haven to the dusty landscape we recognize today. So, what happened to it?
A recent study published in National Science Review by researchers from China, Australia, and Italy has uncovered potential vast reservoirs of water located deep beneath the planet’s surface, providing answers about its fate. Unlike the icy reservoirs found elsewhere on Mars, this water is believed to remain in liquid form, making it a promising candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Around 4 billion years ago, liquid water covered much of Mars’s surface. If evenly distributed, this water would have created a global ocean approximately 1,500 meters (4,920 feet) deep, comparable to the volume of the Indian Ocean on Earth today.
While exact figures are still under debate, this estimation highlights a significant discrepancy.
“Estimated losses of liquid water due to atmospheric escape and crust hydration are predicted to be between 10-200 meters (33-656 feet) and 550 meters (1,800 feet) respectively,” stated Waijia Sun, a geophysics professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of the study, as reported by BBC Science Focus.
“Current estimates suggest a total of 20-40 meters (66-131 feet) of water exists in Mars’s atmosphere and as ice in polar or subsurface deposits.”
The “missing water” on Mars, estimated at a range between 710 and 920 meters (2,330 and 3,020 feet), remains unaccounted for, according to Sun and colleagues.
Marsquakes and Meteorites
With NASA’s InSight lander landing on Mars on November 26, 2018, a new perspective of the planet’s interior became available. Equipped with a dome housing a seismometer, it measures seismic activity similar to how earthquakes are monitored on Earth, dubbed “pulsing” by NASA.
The research team utilized measurements from two meteor impacts and seismic waves generated by a “Marsquake.” BBC Science Focus co-author Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić compared this technique to medical ultrasound, allowing glimpses into the Martian interior.
“In essence, earthquake waves generated from distant events travel through the Earth’s crust beneath the seismometer,” explained Tkalčić. “By analyzing their reverberations, we can deduce the thickness of these layers and the depth of boundaries.”
Scientists set up solar arrays for NASA’s InSight Lander in 2015 – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin
Seismic waves travel faster through rock that contains water. By measuring the velocity of waves resulting from impacts or quakes, scientists can investigate the presence of deep underground water without the need for excavation.
This innovative method, known as the “receiver function,” enabled the team to identify layers approximately 5.4-8 km (3.4-5 miles) below the Martian surface where seismic waves slow down, indicating water’s presence.
At these depths, temperatures are sufficient for liquid water to exist. Researchers estimate that the water present ranges between 520-780 meters (1,700-2,560 feet) beneath the surface.
Could There Be Life on Mars?
If substantial aquifers lie below the Martian surface, it could be an ideal location to search for alien life. Water is a crucial element for life on Earth, sustaining even deep subterranean microorganisms like bacteria and archaea, which constitute around 15% of Earth’s total biomass.
While finding complex life forms is unlikely at such depths on Mars, microbial life remains a distinct possibility.
“The availability of liquid water is viewed as a key factor in our search for life, as it is essential for existence,” noted Tkalčić. “Consequently, pinpointing locations with liquid water on Mars is vital for identifying potential life.”
Additionally, if humanity establishes a presence on Mars, water becomes a critical resource. Excavating kilometers below the surface presents significant engineering challenges, but such obstacles are to be expected in pioneering a human settlement on another planet.
However, before rushing to buy tickets to Mars, Sun and Tkalčić caution that the aquifer’s existence is not yet confirmed. They emphasize the necessity for additional data before reaching any conclusions.
Liquid water is the most plausible explanation supported by current data, but other viable explanations for the observed seismic waves, such as layers of sediment, exist.
Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić oversees seismology and mathematics in geophysics and heads the Warramunga Seismic & Infrasound Facility at the Australian National University – Photo credit: Jamie Kidston/ANU
On Earth, seismic measurements are taken from numerous seismometers worldwide that cross-validate data points. The situation is different on Mars.
“We must remember that we are limited to data from a single seismometer on a faraway planet. It’s a challenging observational environment, and we are maximizing the quality and quantity of our data,” Tkalčić added.
Researchers aspire that upcoming Mars missions equipped with more seismometers will facilitate more comprehensive studies across the planet. Eventually, we may even analyze the crust for direct chemical evidence of water, and potentially signs of life.
For now, this research offers a hopeful glimpse into what future missions may reveal. Sun remarked: “These findings shed light on the evolution of Mars’s water cycle and its potential habitability, laying a solid groundwork for future inquiries into Martian life and the planet’s climatic history.”
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About Our Experts
Weijia Sun is a professor of geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recognized for his work in Earth and Planetary Physics. His research has appeared in prominent journals such as Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, and Journal of Geophysical Research.
Hrvoje Tkalčić heads the Geophysics Department and directs the Warramunga Seismic & Infrasound Facility at the Australian National University. His research focuses on observational seismology, particularly the Earth’s deep structure and dynamics, appearing in journals like Science, Geophysical Research Letters, and Journal of Geophysical Research.
NASA’s curiosity rover discovered evidence of the ancient Mars carbon cycle, bringing scientists closer to answers on whether the planet can support life.
Curiosity watches the track retreat in the distance on April 30, 2023 at a site called Ubajara. This site is where Rover discovered the Siderate. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
Planetary researchers have long believed that Mars once had a thick carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and liquid water on the surface of the planet.
That carbon dioxide and water should have reacted with Mars rocks to produce carbonate minerals.
However, to date, rover missions and near-infrared spectroscopy analysis from Mars orbit satellites have not discovered the amount of carbonate on the Earth’s surface predicted by this theory.
“We’ve seen a lot of experience in the world,” said Dr. Benjamin Tutoro, a researcher at the University of Calgary.
“The planet is habitable and shows that the model of habitability is correct.”
Using data collected by curiosity, Dr. Tutoro and his colleagues analyzed the composition of the 89 m stratigraphic section of Gail Crater, which once contained an ancient lake.
They identified high concentrations of iron carbonate minerals called siderelites in layers rich in magnesium sulfate, ranging from about 5% to over 10% by weight.
This was unexpected as orbital measurements had not detected carbonates in these layers.
Given its source and chemistry, the researchers speculate that the Seidelians, formed by the water rock reaction and evaporation, indicate that carbon dioxide has been chemically isolated from the Martian atmosphere to sedimentary rocks.
If the mineral composition of these sulfate layers represents a globally sulfate-rich region, these deposits contain large carbon reservoirs that were previously unrecognised.
The carbonate is partially destroyed by a later process, indicating that some of the carbon dioxide was later returned to the atmosphere, creating a carbon cycle.
“The discovery of abundant siderelites in Gale Crater represents both an astonishing and important breakthrough in understanding Mars’ geological and atmospheric evolution,” Dr. Tutoro said.
Dr. Thomas Bristow, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, added:
“A mere centimeters below gives us a good idea of minerals that were formed on or near the surface about 3.5 billion years ago.”
Survey results It will be displayed in the journal Science.
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Benjamin M. Tsutoro et al. 2025. Carbonates identified by the curiosity rover show the carbon cycle operating on ancient Mars. Science 388 (6744): 292-297; doi: 10.1126/science.ado9966
Recent measurements from NASA’s insight mission show that Mars’ core is less dense than previously believed planetary scientists. This shows that Mars has never developed a solid inner core at the earliest time in its history. in New research Published in the journal Geophysical Research BookResearchers at the University of Texas and elsewhere were hoping to understand the impact of this lack of a solid inner core.
Computer simulation of the unilateral magnetic field of early Mars. Image credits: Ankit Barik/Johns Hopkins University.
“Like Earth, Mars once had a strong magnetic field that protected the thick atmosphere from the solar wind,” said Dr. Chi Yang, a colleague at the University of Texas.
“But now only the magnetic imprint remains. But with a long, confused scientist, this imprint appears most strongly in the southern half of the red planet.”
The team’s new research will help explain the one-sided traces. We present evidence that the planet’s magnetic field covers only the southern half.
“The resulting biased magnetic field will match the traces we saw today,” Dr. Yang said.
“It will also make the Earth’s magnetic field that covers the entire Earth different from the Earth’s magnetic field.”
“If Mars’ inner core is liquid, a one-sided magnetic field can be generated.”
“The logic here is that it’s much easier to generate a hemispherical (one-sided) magnetic field because there is no solid inner core.”
“It could have influenced the ancient dynamos on Mars and perhaps could have maintained the atmosphere.”
In this study, researchers used computer simulations to model this scenario.
Until now, most early Mars studies relied on magnetic field models that gave the red planet an inner nucleus like Earth surrounded by solid, molten iron.
Scientists were urged to try to simulate a full liquid core after insights discovered that Mars’ core is made up of lighter than expected elements.
“That means there’s a very high chance that it’s melting because the core melts differently than Earth’s,” said Sabin Stanley, a professor at Johns Hopkins University.
“If Mars’ core was melting now, it would almost certainly have melted 4 billion years ago when it was known that Mars’ magnetic field was active.”
To test the idea, the author prepared an early Mars simulation with a liquid core and ran it dozens of times on a supercomputer.
With each run they made the northern half of the mantle planet a little hotter than the south.
Eventually, the temperature difference between the hotter mantle in the north and the colder mantle in the south began to escape from the core and only release at the southern tip of the planet.
The escape heat channeled in such a way was active enough to drive the dynamos and generate a powerful magnetic field focused on the Southern Hemisphere.
Planetary dynamos are self-supporting mechanisms that generate magnetic fields, usually through the movement of molten metal cores.
“We didn’t know if we’d explain the magnetic field, so it’s exciting to see that Mars’ interiors can create (single) hemispherical magnetic fields with an internal structure that fits insights as well as today,” Professor Stanley said.
This finding provides a compelling alternative theory for common assumptions that affect obliterating evidence of magnetic field elimination across rocky planets in the Northern Hemisphere.
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C. Yang et al. 2025. Mars hemispherical magnetic field from a full sphere dynamo. Geophysical Research Book 52(3): E2024GL113926; doi: 10.1029/2024GL113926
The office situated on the ambiguous corner of the federal government, where NASA relies on to safely land astronauts on the moon, is facing pressure to cut at least 20% of the close team of experts for Mars’ robotic probes, according to two individuals familiar with the directive.
Staff reductions have reportedly already commenced at the Astro Geography Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, with more employees expected to be terminated following a recent call for early retirement and resignations on April 4th. The office, which is part of the US Geological Survey under the Department of the Home Office, is the target of cost-cutting efforts initiated in January with a substantial email sent to the federal government by Musk’s team.
Representatives from the Department of Home Affairs, USGS, and the Astro Geography Center did not respond to requests for comment regarding the staff reductions or potential impacts.
The cuts could potentially impact the mission of sending a crew to Mars in the future, a significant objective for Musk, who is the founder of SpaceX. He envisions a company that can make human life multiplanetary.
Matthew Golombek, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has been involved in selecting multiple probe landing sites on Mars and described the precise mapping at the Astro Geographic Science Center as the “gold standard used by essentially everyone in the community.”
At the beginning of this year, the office had 53 employees, with eight already set to depart and more encouraged to consider the latest offers.
Dr. Golombek emphasized the importance of the center’s experts for mapping excellence and site selection for almost every landing. He expressed concern about losing the highly experienced and knowledgeable executives from the center.
The repercussions of reducing the team of interplanetary mapmakers in the office are significant, as Jared Isaacman, the NASA-backed presidential candidate under President Trump, proposed a “parallel” effort to send astronauts to Mars during a Senate committee meeting.
One researcher at the Flagstaff Office voiced concerns that amid shifting budget priorities, personnel cuts could be detrimental to mapping and critical projects in planetary science, crucial for human exploration.
“I can’t fathom randomly cutting 40% of the remaining staff without canceling the entire project,” the researcher stated.
The researchers added that even the departure of just five workers could significantly impact the office, depending on seniority and field of expertise.
Two employees, who requested anonymity to protect their government careers, were aware of the recent call for volunteers for the “deferred resignation/retirement program” at a recent staff meeting. Essential layoffs known in the federal government if insufficient employees volunteer.
The field of astronomy is interdisciplinary, with experts in terrestrial fields like mineralogy, volcanology, and geography that are valuable for space exploration. The USGS Astrogeology Center, though part of an internal division, closely collaborates with NASA and is largely funded by the agency.
For decades, the Center’s experts have been pivotal in creating detailed topographic maps of various celestial bodies, strategic planning, and scientific goals for NASA missions.
The scientist also provided lunar geology crash courses to Apollo astronauts like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, which enhanced their knowledge of rock sample collection. This training has been revived for NASA’s Artemis program, aiming to return astronauts to the moon’s surface in 2027.
Office geology experts played a crucial role in finding new landing sites for historic Viking Mars landers after the original site was deemed unsafe in 1976. In 2021, a rover safely landed on Mars and was guided autonomously using maps and software from the Center.
Companies in the commercial space sector also rely on the expertise of the Astro Geographic Science Center.
“SpaceX has consulted the USGS in the past, and the USGS team was enthusiastic,” said David SF Portree, a former archivist and public relations manager at the Astrology Science Center, a semi-self-historist and science writer in Arizona.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comments regarding their work at the Astrogeology Center or the impact on their Mars program.
Mr. Porterie expressed concerns about the long-term effects of NASA’s 50-year plan for the crew’s mission to Mars and the executive order for a government-wide employment freeze, which affected student contractors at the office.
Dr. Edwards from Northern Arizona raised concerns about the mass recruitment of probationary workers, stating that it could lead to the dismissal of subject experts.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining experienced staff to ensure the continuity of specialized expertise in the field.
NASA prioritizes sending American astronauts to Mars, a goal supported by President Trump’s candidate to lead the space agency.
The candidate, Jared Isaacman, CEO of Payment Processing Company Shift4 Payments and a close associate of Elon Musk, brings a unique perspective from leading private astronaut flights into orbit. He is expected to bring new ideas to NASA and its $25 billion budget, aligning with entrepreneurial aerospace companies like SpaceX.
Isaacman aims to revitalize a mission-first culture at NASA, as stated in his opening statement before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology.
While Mars remains a long-term goal for human spaceflight, NASA’s current focus has been on the International Space Station and sending astronauts back to the moon during Trump’s presidency.
Isaacman affirms that NASA will view the moon as a stepping stone to Mars, not abandoning it but utilizing it for scientific, economic, and national security interests.
He believes that fostering an economy in orbit will accelerate NASA’s scientific advancements and discoveries.
Isaacman’s confirmation hearing sheds light on NASA’s future direction amidst uncertainties surrounding federal agencies. With Musk’s influence and contrasting views, the path forward for NASA remains uncertain.
Isaacman is expected to address questions regarding NASA’s space launch system and the future of lunar missions during his confirmation hearing.
Isaacman’s appointment signals a departure from traditional NASA leadership, bringing a fresh perspective from his background in private space missions.
Despite criticisms of NASA’s costly programs like the SLS rocket, Isaacman emphasizes the importance of efficient and cost-effective missions to advance space exploration.
His vision includes prioritizing American astronauts’ return to the moon as a crucial step towards eventual Mars exploration.
Isaacman’s unique approach to space exploration has already been demonstrated through private missions like Inspiration 4 and Polaris Dawn, showcasing innovative technologies and partnerships with SpaceX.
In a shift from traditional aerospace leadership, Isaacman’s nomination for NASA administrator represents a new era of space exploration.
His experiences with private space missions demonstrate a commitment to innovation and collaboration in advancing human space travel.
Isaacman’s appointment heralds a new chapter for NASA as it navigates evolving priorities and challenges in space exploration.
As NASA looks to the future under Isaacman’s leadership, the agency is poised to embrace innovative solutions and partnerships to propel human space endeavors forward.
According to a new study from the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences, certain lichen species can withstand a 50 Gy (gray) Mars-like condition expected at a 50 Gy (gray) X-ray radiation dose of strong solar activity over a year on the surface of Mars.
Morphological and anatomical properties of Setoria Acleatta (a,d,g,j) and diploschistes muscorum (B, C, E, F, H, I, K, L).
Liches live in a wide variety of ecosystems around the world, but are especially important in extreme environments such as hot deserts and cold polar regions.
They are known as extremes and can survive under extreme temperatures, intense radiation, and prolonged water shortages.
The prominent ability of lichens to withstand harsh conditions led to the suggestion that it is suitable for survival in extreme environments of outer space.
The successful life strategy of lichen depends on the symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae or cyanobacteria, allowing them to colonize extreme terrestrial habitats where other multicellular organisms cannot survive.
The key to understanding their impressive resistance lies in the “stress tolerant” organisms, namely the characteristics of low nutritional requirements for metabolic rates and extended lifespans. These are further supported by radiation screening, heat dissipation and antioxidant protection.
Moreover, they can even deal with long periods of water shortage and total lack of liquid water.
This is associated with a lack of ability to regulate moisture content, allowing long-term, severe dryness without damage from dormant states, but can withstand high levels of UV/photosynthetic active radiation and extreme temperatures associated with drought conditions.
Mars is the main focus of interest in astrobiology due to the presence of water and the related possibilities of life.
The current atmospheric conditions on Mars keep people at bay, and the potential habitat for existing living is limited.
Nevertheless, during more favorable climate times, habitable environments may be present below or on the surface.
These niches can serve as isolated habitats that protect against harsh conditions.
The atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide (95%), but the effectiveness of greenhouse warming is limited.
Mars’ temperature is mainly below the freezing point of water, with atmospheric pressure of 6 mbar.
As a result, a significant portion of Mars’ existing water is ice and atmospheric water vapor. However, certain amounts of water may be present temporarily as liquid water.
Both ionizing radiation and deindependence always reach the surface of Mars and pass through the Mars atmosphere much easier than Earth.
This factor is most restrictive in the Martian habitability context, as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation are very harmful to living things.
“In our study, lichen symbiotic fungal partners remained metabolically active when exposed to atmospheric conditions like Mars in the dark, including the expected X-ray radiation levels on Mars, which are expected to have strong solar activity over a year.”
In their study, the authors focused on two lichen species, diploschistes muscorum and Setoria Acleattaselected for different properties and exposed to Mars-like conditions for 5 hours in simulations of planetary atmosphere composition, pressure, temperature variation, and X-ray radiation.
The findings suggest particularly lichens diploschistes muscorumdespite the high doses of X-ray radiation associated with solar flares and energy particles reaching the surface of the planet, it can survive on Mars.
These results challenge the assumption that ionizing radiation is an insurmountable barrier to Mars’ life and set the stages of further research into the possibilities of extraterrestrial microorganisms and symbiotic survival.
“Our study is the first to demonstrate that the metabolism of fungal partners in lichen symbiosis remains active while in an environment similar to the Martian surface,” Dr. Sukibauwa said.
“We found it diploschistes muscorum It was able to carry out metabolic processes and effectively activate the defense mechanism. ”
“These findings expand our understanding of biological processes under simulated Mars conditions and reveal how hydrates respond to ionized radiation.
“Ultimately, this study will deepen our knowledge of the adaptation of lichens and the possibility of colonizing the extraterrestrial environment.”
Survey results It will be displayed in the journal IMA bacteria.
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K.Skubała et al. 2025. Ionized Radiation Resilience: How metabolically active lichens endure simulated exposure to the Martian atmosphere. IMA bacteria 16:E145477; doi:10.3897/imafungus.16.145477
On March 12, 2025, Spatula – ESA’s first space safety mission – reached Deimos, coming within 5,000 km of the surface of Mars and 1,000 km from Deimos. During flybys, the spacecraft deployed scientific payloads for studying Earth and the Moon. Activating the instruments onboard Hera, scientists were able to visualize the surface of Mars and the features of Deimos.
Mars appears bright blue in this near-infrared image of the Hyperscout H Hyperspectral Imager, which was acquired on the Mission’s March 12th Gravity Assisted Flyby. The spacecraft was about 1,000 km from Deimos, 12.4 km in diameter when this image was acquired. In the background, you can observe various Mars features. At the top of the image is the bright Terra Sabaaa area near the equator of Mars, which is outlined in a dark area, with the huygen crater at a distance of 450 km to the left of the Terra Aaa at Sabaaa and the 460 km diameter Shea Parelli Crater. To the bottom right of the Mars disc is one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, 2,300 km in diameter and over 7 km deep. Image credit: ESA.
Launched on October 7th, 2024, Hera is now en route to visit Dimorphos. Dimorphos was the first asteroid to have its orbit altered by human intervention.
By gathering detailed data on this asteroid, which was affected by NASA’s DART spacecraft in 2022, Hera aims to advance asteroid deflection into a well-understood and potentially replicable technology.
Hera’s Flyby of Mars was a crucial step in the journey through Deep Space, meticulously planned by ESA’s Flight Dynamics team.
Approaching within 5,000 km of Mars, the planet’s gravity assisted in adjusting the spacecraft’s path towards its target.
Traveling at 9 km/s relative to Mars, Hera was able to capture images of Deimos from 1,000 km away, exploring the far side of the tiny moon opposite to the red planet.
“The mission analysis and flight dynamics team at ESOC in Germany did an exceptional job in planning the gravity assist,” said Caglayan Guerbuez, ESA’s Hera Spacecraft Operations Manager.
“In particular, they had to fine-tune the operations to bring Hera closer to Deimos, which added quite a bit of extra work for them!”
Three instruments onboard HERA were utilized during the flyby.
– The asteroid framing camera of the Spara, used for navigation and scientific purposes, captured images in visible light.
– HERA’s Hyperscout H Hyperspectral Imager observed in multiple colors beyond human perception, aiding in characterizing mineral compositions with its 25 visible and near-infrared spectral bands.
– HERA’s thermal infrared imager, provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), revealed physical properties such as roughness, particle size distribution, and porosity, mapping surface temperatures in mid-red wavelengths.
“These instruments were previously tested before leaving Earth, but this is the first time they were utilized on a distant moon like Deimos where knowledge is limited,” said the Research Director of CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur.
“Upon reaching Deimos, one of the HERA instruments remained idle as the others were in use. This is due to the limitation of the Cubesats, which are only activated at slower speeds when at a considerable distance from the target,” added the Research Director.
Mars appears bright blue in this near-infrared image taken by Hera's spacecraft. The month's deimos is a dark mark towards the center of the image
ESA
Space exploration mission to study asteroids that NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft three years ago takes stunning bonus images of Mars and its moon Deimos is on the way to his final destination.
NASA's 2022 Double Planet Redirect Test (DART) was an attempt to show that bodies on a collision course with the planet could be deliberately redirected to avoid catastrophic effects. Observations from Earth showed that NASA successfully alters the orbit of the asteroid by crushing the 610-kilogram ship into distant asteroid shaped leaves at 6.6 km/sec. Dimorphos did not present any risk to the Earth, and simply acted as a subject.
Hera is a subsequent European Space Agency mission designed to explore the effects of crashes in detail. The craft is the size of a small car weighing 1081 kilograms when fully fueled. It was released on October 7, 2024 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, and on March 12, 2025 I made a flyby to Mars on my way to the asteroid.
Deimos looks dark surrounded by Mars
ESA
Hera came close to 5,000 kilometers to the surface of Mars, received a gravity boost and cast it at Dimorphos. The operation reduced travel time by months and saved fuel.
It was very close to Mars, but I was able to turn on the trio of sensors to take detailed photos of some of the planets. Demos in the same frame. We captured images, infrared cameras and hyperspectral imagers that can sense different colors beyond the limits of the human eye using a 1020 x 1020 pixel resolution.
Hera moved at 9 km/sec compared to Mars, allowing him to image Deimos, a distance of just 1000 kilometers, ranging from 12.4 kilometers long. You can also photograph the side of the moon, which is attractively trapped from Mars, but that's not very common.
Deimos shines much brighter than Mars in this shot taken by Hera's thermal infrared imager
ESA/JAXA
The first concept behind the Hera mission was that it existed when Dart collided with Dimorphos, but delays in funding made it impossible. It will arrive a few years after the impact.
The mission also features two miniature satellites, called Juventus and Milani, or Cubesat. Rather than rotating the traits, these will fly before them and make a drastic pass at smaller, risky distances to collect data. Both are expected to look better if they eventually land on an asteroid and do everything they can in the distance.
According to a new study by planetary researchers at Tokyo Planet University, atmospheric gravity waves play an important role in driving airflows, particularly at altitudes, at latitudes.
This image from the Emirates Mars Mission shows Mars and its thin atmosphere. Image credit: UAESA/MBRSC/HOPE MARS MISSION/EXI/ANDREALUCK.
“On Earth, the large atmospheric waves caused by the rotation of a planet known as the Rossby waves are the main effect on the way stratospheric air circulates, or the lower part of the medium atmosphere.”
“However, our research shows that on Mars, gravitational waves have the dominant effect in the mid-atmosphere and at high latitudes.”
“Rossby's waves are large atmospheric or resolved waves, while gravitational waves are unresolved waves, meaning that they must be estimated using finer, more indirect means to be measured or modeled.”
“Don't confuse it with gravitational waves from the body of a large star. Gravitational waves are atmospheric phenomena when packets of air rise and fall due to buoyancy fluctuations. Their oscillating movements cause gravitational waves.”
Due to their small-scale nature and limitations of observational data, planetary researchers previously discovered that it is difficult to quantify their importance in the Martian atmosphere.
Therefore, Professor Sato and her colleagues turned to the Ensemble Mars Atmosphere Reanalysis System (EMARS) dataset generated by various space-based observations over the years to analyze seasonal variation.
“We found something interesting. Gravitational waves promote the rapid vertical movement of angular momentum, which has a major impact on the meridian or north-north in the mid-atmospheric circulation on Mars,” said Anzu Asumi, a graduate student at Tokyo University.
“It's interesting because it's more like the behavior seen in the Earth's mesosphere, not in our stratosphere.”
“This suggests that the effects of these waves may need to be better incorporated to improve existing Mars atmospheric circulation models, and could improve future climate and weather simulations.”
The team is currently planning to investigate the effects of Mars sandstorms on atmospheric circulation.
“So far, our analysis has focused on a year without large sandstorms,” Professor Sato said.
“However, I think these storms could dramatically change the state of the atmosphere and strengthen the role of gravitational waves in circulation.”
“In our research, there is a basis for predicting Mars weather, which is essential to guarantee the success of future Mars missions.”
study It will be displayed in Journal of Journal Geophysics: Planets.
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Anzu Asumi et al. Climatology of the residual average circulation of the Martian atmosphere and the contribution of solutions and unresolved waves based on reanalysis datasets. Journal of Journal Geophysics: PlanetsPublished online on March 6th, 2025. doi:10.1029/2023je008137
New research suggests that Mars once was the perfect holiday destination (if they were willing to overlook radiation exposure or lack of food sources), but also had the right conditions for alien life. why? The discovery of ancient sandy beaches on the red planet suggests that once a large liquid ocean spread across the north of the planet.
“Looking back at the places where the earliest life on Earth developed, it was in the interaction between the ocean and the land, which paints a picture of an ancient habitable environment that can embrace the conditions for microbial life,” he said. Benjamin Cardenasassistant professor of geology at Penn State University in the United States and co-author of the study.
Four billion years ago, these beaches would have been the best variety. The waves are softly wrapped sandy and immersed in the sun.
“We found evidence of a lack of wind, waves and sand. It’s a proper vacation style beach,” says Cardenas, whose research was published. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (pnas).
To find this, researchers used a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface in a region of North Mars called the Utopian Plain, using radar imaging, using a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface.
We discovered 76 hidden structures at depths of 10-35m (33-115ft). Sadly, this turned out to be not a mysterious alien infrastructure (we can dream of it), but rather a sedimentary deposit similar to what is found around the Earth’s coastline.
3.6 billion years ago, the ocean may have covered almost half of the red planet. The Orange Star shows where China’s Roberzouron began its exploration. Meanwhile, the Yellow Star is where NASA’s patient rover landed. Both arrived on Mars in 2021. -Image credit: Robert Citron
The structure, thickness and length of Martian sediments showed that they were not formed by the melting of rivers, winds, lava or ice, but rather by stable ancient seas. In fact, they were roughly the same as 21 people on Earth, including the Bay of Bengal.
Specifically, a formation called “foreshore sediments” is formed by the tide and wind that descends the slope towards the ocean at a 15° angle and carries sediments like sand and gravel.
“This quickly stood out to us because it suggested there were waves, meaning there was a dynamic interface between air and water,” Cardenas said. This interaction, which also took place in the early history of the Earth, is important for the beginning of life.
The discovery suggests that Mars had a warm, humid climate for tens of millions of years.
“We tend to think of Mars as a static snapshot of the planet, but it was evolving. The rivers were flowing, the sediment was moving, the land was built and eroding,” Cardenas said.
“This type of sedimentary geology tells us how the landscape looks, how they evolved, and, importantly, helps us identify where we want to look for our past life.”
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Use data collected by China’s Zhurong Roverplanetary researchers have identified hidden layers of rocks beneath the Martian surface, which strongly suggests the existence of the ancient North Sea.
Panoramic photograph taken by China’s Zhurong rover on Mars. Image credit: National Astronomer.
“We’re finding locations on Mars that looked like ancient beaches and deltas of ancient rivers,” said Pennsylvania researcher Benjamin Cardenas, who co-authored the study.
“We found evidence of a lack of wind, waves and sand. It’s a proper vacation style beach.”
The now inactive Zhurong Rover landed on Mars in 2021 in an area known as Utopia Planitia and was open for a year between May 2021 and May 2022.
From the time when Mars had a thicker atmosphere and warmer climate, it traveled about 1.9 km (1.2 miles) to cliffs that are considered ancient coastlines from the time period.
Along its path, the rover probed up to 80 m (260 feet) under the surface using ground penetration radar.
This radar is used to detect not only underground objects such as pipes and utilities, but also irregular features.
The radar image shows thick layers of material along the entire path, all facing upwards towards the estimated shoreline at an angle of about 15 degrees, roughly the same as the angle of beach sediments on Earth.
This thickness of sediment on Earth would have taken millions of years to form. It suggests that Mars had long-lived water with the effect of waves to distribute sediments along the sloped coastline.
Radar also allowed to determine the size of the particles in these layers and matched the particles of sand.
However, the deposits do not resemble the ancient wind-blowed dunes common on Mars.
“This quickly stood out to us because it suggested there were waves. That means there was a dynamic interface between air and water,” Dr. Cardenas said. I did.
“Looking back at the places where the earliest life on Earth developed, it was in the interaction between the ocean and the land, which paints an ancient habitable environment, and conditions for microbial life. You can embrace the
“Comparing Mars data with radar images of coastal sediments on Earth, we found impressive similarities.”
“The dip angle observed on Mars fell within the range seen in coastal sedimentary deposits on Earth.”
“We see the coastline of this body of water has evolved over time,” Dr. Cardenas said.
“We tend to think of Mars as a static snapshot of a planet, but it was evolving. The rivers were flowing, the sediments were moving, the land was constructed and eroded. This type of sedimentary geology tells us how landscapes look and how they evolved. And, importantly, identifying where you want to look for your past life. It will help you.”
“The discoveries show that Mars was a much damper location than it used to be today, further supporting the hypothesis of the past oceans that covers most of the planet’s North Pole.”
The study also provides new information on the evolution of Mars’ environment, suggesting that life-friendly warm, wet periods can potentially last tens of millions of years.
“The power of Zhurong Rover allowed us to understand the geological history of the planet in a whole new way,” said the University of California, a professor of Michael Manga at Berkeley.
“That underground intrusion radar gives us an underground view of the planet.
“These incredible advances in technology have made it possible to realize basic science that uncovers a new mountain of information about Mars.”
result It was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Jianhui Li et al. 2025. Ancient sea coastal deposits imaged on Mars. pnas 122 (9): E2422213122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2422213122
This iron mineral, called ferihydrite, formed under oxidative conditions during cold, humid periods on early Mars, continuing its transition to the current overheating environment.
This image of Mars Express's high-resolution stereo camera shows Mars glove set on a dark background. The planet's disc has patches of yellow, orange, blue and green, all with a muted gray hue throughout, representing the various compositions of the surface. Image credits: ESA/DLR/FU BERLIN/G. MICHAEL/CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
Mars is easily identified in the night sky due to its prominent red tint.
Thanks to a fleet of spacecrafts that have been studying planets over the past decades, this red colour is known to be due to rusty iron minerals in the dust.
In other words, iron bound to the rocks of Mars reacted at one point with water and oxygen in the air, just as how rust on Earth formed.
For more than billions of years, this rusty material, iron oxide — has been broken down into dust around the planet by the wind, a process that continues today.
However, iron oxide has a lot of flavour and the precise chemistry of Mars' rust is heavily debated as it is a window into the environmental conditions of Earth at the time.
And what's closely linked to it is the question of whether Mars has been habitable to date.
Previous studies of the iron oxide components of Martian dust based solely on spacecraft observations found no evidence of water contained within it.
Therefore, planetary researchers say that this particular type of iron oxide is formed under hematite, which is formed under dry surface conditions through reaction with the Martian atmosphere for billions of years after an early wet period on Mars. I had concluded that it had to be.
However, new analysis of spacecraft observations combined with new laboratory techniques shows that Mars' red colour is better matched by iron oxides containing water known as ferihydrite.
Felihydrite usually forms quickly in the presence of cold water, so it must have been formed when Mars was still water on the surface.
The minerals hold a watery signature to this day, despite their spreading down to the ground.
Dr. Adomas Valantinas, a researcher at Brown University, said:
“Ferihydrite, mixed with volcanic rock basalt, has proven to be the most suitable for the minerals found in Martian spacecraft.”
“Mars is still a red planet. It's not only about understanding why Mars is red, but it also means that our understanding has changed.”
“The main meaning is that Mars was rusting faster than before, as ferrihydrite could only form when water was still on the surface.”
“In addition, under current conditions on Mars, ferrihydrite remains stable.”
Mars has acquired its iconic color from the combination of rust and erosion over its 4.6 billion years of history. Image credits: ESA/ATG Europe/Valantinas et al. , doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56970-z.
Other studies have also suggested that ferrihydrite may be present in Mars' dust, but the current study has been the first comprehensive study through a unique combination of space mission data and new laboratory experiments. Provide evidence.
The authors used an advanced grinder machine to create replica Mars dust, achieving realistic dust grain sizes equivalent to 1/100th of human hair.
To make a direct comparison, the samples were then analyzed using the same technology as the spacecraft orbiting the spacecraft, and ultimately identified ferrihydrite as the best match.
“This study is the result of a complementary dataset from a fleet of international missions exploring Mars at orbital and ground levels,” says Dr. Colin Wilson, PhD, Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) from ESA and Mars Express Project Scientist. said.
Mars Express's dust mineralogy analysis helped to show that even the highly dusty regions of the planet contain water-rich minerals.
Also, thanks to TGO's unique trajectory, you can see the same area at different lighting conditions and angles. Researchers can unravel the particle size and composition essential to replicate the correct dust size in the lab.
Data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ground-based measurements from NASA's Mars Rovers Curiosity, Pathfinder and opportunity also helped to assert ferrihydrite.
“We are eagerly awaiting the results of our upcoming missions, including ESA's Rosalind Franklin Rover and sample returns from NASA/ESA Mars.
“Some of the samples that have already been collected by NASA's Perseverance Rover and are waiting for their return to Earth contain dust. Putting these precious samples into the lab will result in dust. You can accurately measure the amount of ferihydrite contained and what this means to understand the history of water and the potential for life on Mars.”
“This research is an opening opportunity for the door,” said Dr. Jack Mustard, a planetary scientist at Brown University.
“It gives us a better opportunity to apply the principles of mineral formation and conditions and tap time.”
“More importantly, the return of samples from Mars, which are currently being collected through patience.”
Survey results It will be displayed in the journal Natural Communication.
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A. Valantinas et al. 2025. Detection of ferrihydrite in the red dust of Mars records ancient cold and wet conditions on Mars. Nut commune 16, 1712; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56970-z
New images and shows taken over 16 minutes by the Mastcam Instrument of NASA’s Curiosity Rover on January 17, 2025 Night or in twilight cloudsin the atmosphere of Mars. Sometimes these clouds create rainbows of color, creating rainbow clouds and mother clouds. If it is too faint to be visible in the daytime, the clouds will be particularly high and only visible when the evening falls.
Mars clouds are made of either water ice or carbon dioxide ice at higher altitudes and lower temperatures.
The latter is the only kind of cloud observed on the red planet, producing rainbow colors, and can be seen near the top of the new image at an altitude of 60-80 km (37-50 miles).
It also appears that white feathers fall into the atmosphere on a low ride 50 km (31 miles) from the surface before evaporating due to rising temperatures.
Temporarily visible at the bottom of the image are water ice clouds moving in the opposite direction about 50 km of the curiosity rover.
This Curiosity/Mastcam image shows simultaneous clouds in the atmosphere of Mars. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SSI.
“When I first saw these rainbow clouds, I always remember, but at first I was sure it was a few colour artifacts,” said the Atmospheric Scientist at the Institute of Space Science. said one Dr. Mark Lemon.
“It’s now predictable, so you can plan your shots ahead of time. Clouds appear at the exact same time.”
“Each sighting is an opportunity to learn more about the particle size and growth rates of Mars clouds, which will provide you with more information about the planet’s atmosphere.”
“The potential source of clouds can be gravitational waves, which can cool the atmosphere.”
“We weren’t expecting carbon dioxide to condense into ice here, so we’re cooling until something is likely to happen.”
“However, the gravitational waves on Mars are not fully understood, and we are not entirely aware of what the Twilight clouds are formed in one place and not elsewhere. “
A new analysis of the metstones of magmatic iron challenges traditional theories about why Earth and Mars are depleted with moderately volatile elements.
Bendego met stone. Image credit: Jorge Andrade / CC by 2.0.
Medium volatile elements (MVEs) such as copper and zinc play an important role in planetary chemistry with essential elements of life, such as water, carbon, and nitrogen.
Understanding its origins provides important clues as to why the Earth has become a habitable world.
Earth and Mars contain significantly fewer MVEs than primitive metstones (chondrites), raising basic questions about the planetary layer.
This new study employs a new approach by analyzing iron meteorites (the metal core remnants of the earliest planetary building blocks) to reveal new insights.
“We’ve seen a lot of experience in the world,” said Dr. Damanveer Grewal, a researcher at Arizona State University.
“This discovery reconstructs our understanding of how the planet acquired its components.”
Until now, scientists believed that MVE was lost because they were not completely condensed in the early solar system or escaped during planetary differentiation.
However, new research reveals a different story. It is held by many MVEs on the first planet, suggesting that the building blocks of Earth and Mars later lost theirs.
Surprisingly, the authors discovered that many inner solar system planets retain abundance of MVEs like chondrites, and accretion continues despite being differentiated. It indicates that it has been saved.
This was not because Earth and Mars ancestors began to deplete with these elements, but instead occurred in the long history of collision growth, rather than incomplete condensation of solar nebulae or planet differentiation. Suggests that.
“Our work redefines how we understand the chemical evolution of planets,” Dr. Grewal said.
“It shows that the components of Earth and Mars were originally rich in these vital elements, but the intense collisions during the planet’s growth caused depletion.”
study Published in the journal Advances in Science.
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Damanveer S. Grewal et al. 2025. Enrichment of moderate volatile elements in first-generation planets of the inner solar system. Advances in Science 11 (6); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adq7848
The team of the planetary researcher led by Caltech has decided on a chemical mechanism that can maintain sufficient warmth in the early days of ancient Mars, perhaps to host life.
Adams et al。 Mars has experienced a temporary warm period for the 40 million years of integration, estimating that each event lasted about 100 to 00 years. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO / N. risinger, Skysurvey.org.
“Because Mars is far from the sun, it was a very puzzle that Mars had liquid water on Mars. Dr. Adams said.
“Hydrogen was previously theoretical as a magical component, mixed with carbon dioxide in Mars, causing an episode of greenhouse warming.”
“However, the life of air hydrogen was short, so a more detailed analysis was needed.”
In this study, Dr. Adams and his colleagues used photochemical modeling to describe the details of the relationship with hydrogen in the early atmosphere of Mars and how the relationship has changed over time.
“The early Mars is a lost world, but if you ask the right question, you can reconstruct in detail,” said Professor Robin Wordworth at Harvard University.
“In this study, we will integrate the atmosphere and climate of the atmosphere for the first time and bring some impressive new predictions that can be tested if you bring back Mars to Earth.”
The authors changed the model called dynamics to simulate how the combination of hydrogen and other gas, which responded to both the ground and air, reacted the early Mars climate.
They discovered that Mars has been a warm episode of about 40 million years, 400 million to 3 billion years ago during the Noatian and Hesperian days in Mars, and that each event lasted more than 10000 years.
These estimated values match today's geological characteristics of Mars.
During the warm and damp period, the hydrogen of the crust or the lost water on the ground was driven, and sufficient hydrogen was supplied to accumulate in the atmosphere for millions of years.
During the fluctuations between the warm climate and the cold climate, the chemistry of the atmosphere of Mars also fluctuated. Carbon dioxide is constantly attacked by sunlight and is converted to carbon monoxide.
During the warm period, carbon dioxide can return to carbon dioxide and control carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
However, if it is long enough, the recycling decelerates, accumulates carbon monoxide, and reduces the reduction, that is, less oxygen.
Therefore, the red oxidation state of the atmosphere changed dramatically over time.
“We have identified all of these alternate time scale,” said Dr. Adams.
“And I explained all the same parts of the same photochemical model.”
Modeling work gives a potential new insight into the conditions for supporting the pre -buiotics chemistry (the basis of life after we know), and to the end of its life at intervals between cold and oxidation. Lends issues.
Researchers are working to find evidence of these alternatives using isotopic chemical modeling.
They will compare these results with the rocks of the Mars Sample Return Mission in the future.
Since Mars has no plate tectonics, unlike the earth, the surface seen today resembles the surface long ago, making the history of lakes and rivers more interesting.
“It will be a really wonderful case study for how the planet evolves over time,” said Dr. Adams.
study Published in the journal Natural global science。
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D. Adams et al。 The warm climate of the early episode on Mars prepared by hydration of the crust. nut. GeosciReleased online on January 15, 2025. Doi: 10.1038/S41561-024-01626-8
Study published in the magazine Natural Earth Science: Planetary researchers used high-resolution images and compositional data captured by orbiting satellites to understand the geology of thousands of kilometers of hills in the northern and western lowlands. Maurus Gorge, a plateau located on the highland side of the hemisphere bisection boundary of Mars.
Rising hundreds of meters above the surrounding lowlands, two Martian hills reveal bright areas rich in clay minerals. Image credits: ESA / TGO / CaSSIS / NASA / JPL / MSSS / Murray Lab.
A research team led by scientist Joe McNeil from the Natural History Museum in London found that the mounds are the remains of ancient highlands that retreated hundreds of kilometers after erosion carved out the landscape billions of years ago. .
These actions played a key role in shaping the Martian landscape, which separates the planet's low-lying northern hemisphere from its high-lying southern hemisphere.
This mound is made of layered deposits containing clay minerals, formed by water interacting with rock over millions of years.
These clay layers are sandwiched between older non-clay layers below and younger non-clay layers above, marking distinct geological events in Mars' history.
“These mounds are incredibly interesting because they preserve the complete water history of this area within an accessible, continuous rock outcrop,” Dr. McNeil said.
“They are prime locations for future missions aimed at determining whether Mars once had an ocean and whether life could exist there.”
The authors also found that these mounds are geologically connected to nearby plains. Oxia Planum -ESA's Rosalind Franklin spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2028 searching for signs of past and present life.
“Mars' lack of plate tectonics means it still has much of its ancient geology, so Mars is a model of what early Earth was like,” McNeil said. the doctor said.
“The more missions that visit Mars, the more we will be able to dig deeper into our planet's history and discover how life began.”
“As part of the Natural History Museum's mission to transform natural history science, our research focuses on providing solutions from and for nature.”
“This research is part of our Planetary Origins and Evolution research theme, which explores the origins and systems that underpin the evolution of the Earth, Moon, and planetary systems.”
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JD McNeil others. Dichotomous regression and aquatic alteration of Noachian Mars are recorded in highland remnants. Nat. Earth Science published online on January 20, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01634-8
This article is based on a press release provided by the Natural History Museum, London.
Mars is at the extreme of salt water stability. And only the combination of the most favorable environmental conditions and the salt with the lowest eutectic temperature could stabilize brine, at least temporarily, on the surface of Mars, one researcher says. new research Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossai region of Mars was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance rover on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1 km) wide and appears to be relatively recent due to its sharp edges and wells. -Stored emissions. The steep inner slopes are carved by canyons and contain slope lines that may recur on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.
Liquid water is an important prerequisite for a habitable planet. However, the combination of Mars' low temperatures, atmospheric pressure, and water vapor pressure means that any liquid water found on Mars would likely freeze, boil, or evaporate quickly, making it unlikely that Mars exists. .
However, paleontologists continue to insist that liquid water exists on Mars.
Of particular interest is the discovery of seasonal black stripes called repeat slope lines.
These features appear in some places on Mars when temperatures rise above -23 degrees Celsius (-10 degrees Fahrenheit) and disappear when it gets colder.
They are often described as possibly being associated with liquid water.
The new study puts a damper on the idea that liquid water is likely to be found soon in Mars' recurring slopes, permafrost, or salt water.
“If we look closely at RSL, its behavior is consistent with a sand or dust flow, and water is not required for RSL formation,” said lead author Dr. Vincent Chevrier, a researcher at the University of Arkansas. said.
Other researchers believe that brine, a highly salty solution like Earth's oceans, may hold the key to finding liquid water on Mars.
Salt water can freeze at much lower temperatures, and Mars is rich in salt.
Among these salts, perchlorate appears to be the most promising because of its extremely low eutectic temperature (the temperature at which the melting point of the mixture is lower than that of the single components).
For example, calcium perchlorate brine freezes at -75 degrees Celsius (-14 degrees Fahrenheit), but the average surface temperature near the equator of Mars is -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit), so theoretically This suggests that there may be zones where calcium coagulates. Perchlorate water can remain liquid, especially underground.
Dr. Chevrier and his colleague, Dr. Rachel Srank of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, then considered all the arguments for and against brine that could form a stable liquid.
“A variety of limiting factors, including the relatively small amount of most promising salts, water vapor pressure, and ice position, strongly limit the amount of brine present at the surface and in the shallow subsurface,” the researchers said. Ta.
“And even if saline waters formed, they would still remain uninhabitable by terrestrial standards.”
“Despite these drawbacks and limitations, there is always a possibility that Martian life adapted to these salt waters and some terrestrial life could survive in them. This is a planetary protection consideration because there is a possibility that
“Therefore, detecting brine in situ remains a key objective for Mars exploration.”
The next hurdles ahead, the authors say, are improving the equipment needed to detect small amounts of brine, better identifying the best places to look for brine, and conducting more experiments under Martian conditions. It is suggested that this is to enable room measurements to be carried out.
“Despite our best efforts to prove otherwise, Mars remains a cold, dry, and completely uninhabitable desert,” Chevrier said.
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Vincent F. Chevrier and Rachel A. Slank. 2024. The elusive nature of liquid brine on Mars. PNAS 121 (52): e2321067121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2321067121
Planetary scientists using ESA's Mars Express spacecraft's high-resolution stereo camera have captured stunning images of Earth's mysterious landscapes. Australe Scopri Region in the southern hemisphere of the red planet.
Frozen landscape of the Australe Skopli region on Mars' south pole. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.
“Here, a layer of carbon dioxide ice and dust envelops the site, turning Mars white,” ESA researchers said in a statement.
“The contrasting light and dark layers are especially striking on the exposed surfaces of hills and valleys.”
“They track the seasonal polar layered deposits characteristic of the region, which form when layers of ice freeze and trap varying amounts of dust within them. It is something that will be done.”
“It's probably better to take a sled ride, but either way, dress warmly, because it's -125 degrees Celsius (-193 Fahrenheit) outside so it's cold,” they added.
“Skiers and sledders on Mars will have to slalom around potentially hundreds of dust jets.”
“That's because ski season is almost over and it's starting to look like spring, or even summer. This image was taken on June 16, 2022, near the Antarctic summer solstice.”
If you zoom in on the image above, you can see numerous dark spots where the ice has already sublimated. This is a sure sign that the sun's warming rays have been hitting the area for some time.
“When sunlight hits the translucent upper layer of carbon dioxide ice, it warms the underlying surface,” the scientists explained.
“The ice at the bottom of the layer begins to sublimate, forming pockets of trapped gas.”
“As the pressure increases, the overlying ice suddenly cracks, causing gas to burst out from the surface.”
“These gas fountains carry black dust from below, which falls to the surface in a fan-shaped pattern depending on the prevailing wind direction.”
“Fan lengths range from tens of meters to hundreds of meters.”
“If you look more closely, it often appears that the fans follow the boundaries between polar layered deposits.”
“Perhaps these boundaries represent zones of weakness, from which escaping dust-laden jets can more easily break through the ice layer.”
“We may have missed the chance to create 'Frosty the Snowman,' but it's still a wonderful time of year on Mars.”
Scientists from Curtin University and the University of Adelaide analyzed 4.45 billion-year-old zircon particles from a famous Martian meteorite called North West Africa 7034 (NWA 7034) to determine the geochemistry of the water-rich fluid. They found a “fingerprint.”
Northwest Africa 7034. Image credit: NASA.
NWA 7034 weighs approximately 320 grams and is a regolith breccia from Mars.
This meteorite, better known as Black Beauty, was discovered in Morocco's Sahara desert in 2011.
NWA 7034 contains the oldest Martian igneous material ever discovered (approximately 4.45 billion years old).
Dr Aaron Cavosy from Curtin University said: “This discovery opens new avenues for understanding not only the past habitability of Mars, but also the ancient Martian hydrothermal systems associated with magmatic activity.” Ta.
“We used nanoscale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of Martian hydrothermal waters 4.45 billion years ago.”
“Hydrothermal systems are essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings show that Mars also had water, a key component of a habitable environment, during its early history of crustal formation.” It suggests that.
“Through nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the research team identified the elemental pattern of this unique zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium, and sodium.”
“These elements were added when zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting that water was present during early magmatic activity on Mars.”
The authors show that water was present in the early pre-Noachian period before about 4.1 billion years ago, even though the Martian crust withstood massive meteorite impacts that caused large-scale surface deformation. showed.
“A 2022 Curtin study on the same zircon particle found that it had been 'shocked' by a meteorite impact, making it the first and only known shocked zircon from Mars. “It turns out,” Dr. Kavosie said.
“This new study identifies telltale signatures of water-rich fluids when the particles formed and provides geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust. This brings us one step closer to understanding early Mars.”
of findings appear in the diary scientific progress.
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Jack Gillespie others. 2024. Zircon trace element evidence of early hydrothermal activity on Mars. scientific progress 10(47);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq3694
Sedimentary mineral deposits discovered on the surface of Mars may be the remains of ancient oceans from 3.5 billion years ago. New results from China's Tianwen-1/Zhulong mission suggest the existence of landforms consistent with the coastline of the southern Utopian Plains, providing further evidence for the existence of a short-lived ocean early in the planet's history.
“The hypothesis of a Martian ocean in the northern lowlands remains an interesting unanswered question about the early stages of Mars' evolution,” said Bo Wu of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and colleagues.
“The presence of an ocean had a major impact on early Mars' climate and atmosphere and may have left a geological record of its existence.”
“China's Mars probe Zhulong, aboard Tianwen-1, successfully landed in the southern part of Mars' Utopia Plain in May 2021.”
“This area has long been hypothesized to be part of an ancient ocean that once covered the northern lowlands.”
In this study, Dr. Wu and his co-authors analyzed data from the Tianwen 1 orbiter and the Zhoulong rover to provide estimates of the surface age and mineral composition of materials found in the southern Utopia Plains. .
They identified distinct geomorphological features, such as valleys and sedimentary channels, consistent with near-shore zones, suggesting a possible formation event involving a flood about 3.68 billion years ago.
In this scenario, a short period of frozen ocean formed the coastline, and the sea surface may have froze and disappeared about 3.42 billion years ago.
“Different types of water-related geomorphological features were separated by specific topographic contours, suggesting different types of marine environments,” the researchers said.
“The area was subdivided into a foreshore highland-to-lowland transition unit, a shallow marine unit, and a deepwater unit.”
“In situ observations of sedimentary rocks, water-related lamination features, and subsurface sedimentary layers also indicate past water activity.”
“The results suggested an evolutionary scenario for the southern Utopian coastal zone: (i) the Late Noachian Utopian Plains flood reached the foreshore approximately 3.65 to 3.68 billion years ago; (ii) The formation of post-Flood shallow and deep marine units occurred during the early Hesperian, approximately 3.5 and 3.4 billion years ago, respectively. completed by 10 million years ago. (iii) Subsurface volatiles gradually disappeared during the Amazonian period.
B. Wu others. 2024. Observations at the Turon landing site reveal an ancient coastal zone believed to be located in the southern part of Mars' utopia. science officer 14, 24389;doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75507-w
Topographic map of Mars showing Utopian plains that may have once been an ocean
United States Geological Survey
Possible ancient coastlines have been discovered in a region of Mars explored by China’s Zhurong rover, adding further evidence that vast lowlands in Mars’ northern hemisphere may once have been covered by ocean. The evidence has been obtained.
The rover landed in the southern part of Utopia Plain in May 2021 and remained active for almost a year. Researchers studying data from the rover have found hints that there was an ancient ocean or liquid water 400,000 years ago.
now, Bo Woo Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and their colleagues conducted a comprehensive analysis of the topographical features of the landing area by combining remote sensing data from satellites and observations from the spacecraft.
They say they found features consistent with the presence of a southern Utopian coastline, including valleys and sediment channels. They also determined the dating and composition of surface sediments in the area. Based on this, the research team believes that the ocean existed 3.68 billion years ago, but froze and disappeared about 260 million years later.
“This discovery not only provides further evidence in support of the Martian ocean theory, but also perhaps presents for the first time a discussion of its evolutionary scenario,” Wu said.
This area can be divided into a shallow area to the south and a deep area to the north. Wu said shallower parts of the ocean may have been up to 600 meters deep, but there isn’t enough data to estimate the ocean’s maximum depth.
“Water is an important element for life, and the presence of oceans on Mars in the past raises the possibility that Mars may once have harbored early microbial life,” he says.
Mathieu Rapport Researchers at Stanford University in California say whether early Mars had an ocean is a highly debated question with significant implications for the planet’s past habitability. He said future missions will need to test the new findings.
“Utopia Plains may constitute a valuable record of early Martian near-shore and coastal environments,” Rapport says.
NASA’s Perseverance rover will pass in front of the sun on September 30, 2024, the 1,285th Martian day (Sol) since the start of its mission. I captured the silhouette of Phobos inside.
Perseverance captured the silhouette of Phobos passing in front of the Sun on September 30, 2024. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.
Phobos was discovered in 1877 by the American astronomer Asaph Hall, along with its smaller cousin Deimos.
It orbits approximately 6,000 km (3,700 miles) from the surface of Mars, completing one orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes.
Phobos orbits so close to the surface of Mars that the planet’s curvature makes it difficult to see from observers standing at Mars’ polar regions.
Its orbital period is approximately three times the planet’s rotation period, and when viewed from Mars, it rises in the west and sets in the east, an unusual result for a natural satellite.
Phobos measures 26 x 22 x 18 km (16.2 x 13.7 x 11.2 miles) and has a very rugged appearance. There are also impact craters and grooves on the surface.
“Perseverance recently spotted a ‘googly eye’ peering out from space from its perch on the western wall of Jezero Crater on Mars,” NASA scientists said in a statement.
“The pupil of this celestial gaze is Mars’ moon Phobos, and the iris is our sun.”
The event, captured by the Mastcam-Z spacecraft on September 30, occurred as Phobos passed directly between the Sun and a point on the surface of Mars, obscuring most of the Sun’s disk. .
At the same time that Phobos appeared as a large black disk moving rapidly across the surface of the Sun, its shadow, or foreshadow, moved across the planet’s surface.
“Due to its fast orbit, passages through Phobos typically last only about 30 seconds,” the researchers said.
This isn’t the first time a NASA spacecraft has seen Phobos blocking the sun’s rays.
Perseverance has captured multiple passes of the small moon since landing in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February 2021.
Curiosity shot the video in 2019. Opportunity captured the image in 2004.
“By comparing different images, we can improve our understanding of the moon’s orbit and learn how it is changing,” the scientists said.
“Phobos is moving closer to Mars and is predicted to collide with Mars within about 50 million years.”
On Earth, solar radiation can travel up to several meters into the ice, depending on its optical properties. Organisms in the ice can harness the energy from photosynthetically active radiation while being protected from harmful ultraviolet radiation. On Mars, there is no effective ozone shield, so about 30% more harmful ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface compared to Earth. However, a new study shows that despite strong surface UV radiation, mid-latitude ice on Mars contains 0.01-0.1% dust, ranging from a few centimeters deep to several centimeters deep. It has been shown that a radioactive habitable zone exists with a range of up to 3000 m. Cleaner ice.
The white edges along these canyons on Mars' Terra Sirenum are thought to be dusty water ice. cooler others. It is thought that melt water could form beneath the surface of this type of ice, providing a potential site for photosynthesis. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.
“Today, if we are trying to find life anywhere in the universe, the icy outcrops on Mars are probably one of the most accessible places we should look,” said a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. said Dr. Aditya Kuler.
Mars has two types of ice: frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide.
Dr. Cooler and his colleagues investigated water ice. The ice masses were formed from snow mixed with dust that fell on Mars during a series of ice ages over the past million years.
That ancient snow has since solidified into ice and is still dusted with dust.
Dust particles can block light in deeper layers of ice, but they are the key to explaining how underground pools of water form within the ice when exposed to the sun.
The black dust absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding ice, causing the ice to warm and potentially melt several feet below the surface.
Mars scientists are divided on whether ice actually melts when exposed to the Martian surface.
It's thought to be caused by the planet's thin, dry atmosphere, where water ice sublimates and turns directly into gas, similar to dry ice on Earth.
But the atmospheric effects that make melting difficult on Mars' surface don't apply beneath the surface of dusty snowpack and glaciers.
On Earth, dust in ice can create what are called cryoconite holes. This is a small cavity that forms in the ice when windblown dust particles (called cryoconite) land there, absorb sunlight, and melt deep into the ice each summer. is.
Eventually, these dust particles stop sinking as they move away from the sun's rays, but they still generate enough heat to create pockets of melted water around them.
This pocket can foster a thriving ecosystem of simple organisms.
“This is a common phenomenon on Earth,” says Arizona State University researcher Phil Christensen.
“Rather than melting from the top down, thick snow and ice melts from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse.”
In 2021, the authors discovered powdery water ice exposed inside canyons on Mars and proposed that many canyons on Mars are formed by erosion as ice melts into liquid water.
Their new paper suggests that powdery ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to occur as deep as 3 meters (9 feet) below the surface.
In this scenario, the upper layer of ice prevents shallow underground pools of water from evaporating, while also protecting them from harmful radiation.
This is important because, unlike Earth, Mars does not have a protective magnetic field to protect it from both the Sun and radioactive cosmic ray particles flying through space.
“Water ice most likely to form underground pools would exist in tropical regions of Mars between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres,” the researchers said.
of paper appear in the diary Communication Earth and Environment.
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AR cruller others. 2024. Possibility of photosynthesis on Mars in snow and ice. common global environment 5,583;doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01730-y
This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.
Carbonate minerals are an integral part of the carbon and water cycles, both of which are implicated in habitability, making them of particular interest in paleoenvironmental studies. In the new study, planetary scientists focused on carbon and oxygen isotope measurements of carbonate minerals detected by NASA’s Curiosity rover inside Mars’ Gale Crater.
An artist’s concept of an early Mars with liquid water (blue area) on its surface. Image credit: NASA / MAVEN / Lunar and Planetary Institute.
Isotopes are versions of an element that have different masses. As the water evaporates, the lighter ones, carbon and oxygen, are more likely to escape into the atmosphere, while the heavier ones are more likely to be left behind, accumulating in larger quantities, and in this case eventually incorporated into carbonate rocks.
Scientists are interested in carbonates because they have been shown to act as climate records.
These minerals may retain traces of the environment in which they formed, such as the temperature and acidity of the water and the composition of the water and atmosphere.
“The isotopic values of these carbonates indicate extreme amounts of evaporation, suggesting that these carbonates likely formed in climates where only ephemeral liquid water could exist. ‘ said Dr. David Burt, a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
“Our samples do not match an ancient environment in which life (biosphere) existed on the surface of Mars. However, it does not match the subterranean biosphere or the surface environment that began and ended before these carbonates formed. This does not exclude the possibility of a biosphere.
Dr. Burt and his colleagues propose two formation mechanisms for the carbonates found in Gale Crater.
In the first scenario, carbonates form through a series of dry-wet cycles within the crater.
In the second, carbonates form in extremely salty water under cold ice-forming (cryogenic) conditions inside the crater.
“These formation mechanisms represent two different climate regimes that could indicate different habitation scenarios,” said Dr. Jennifer Stern, also of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
“Wetting and drying cycles would indicate alternations between more and less habitable environments, while the extremely low temperatures in the mid-latitudes of Mars mean that most of the water is trapped in ice. “And what’s there would be very salty and unpleasant to live in.” “
These climate scenarios for ancient Mars have been previously proposed based on the presence of certain minerals, global modeling, and the identification of rock formations.
The results are the first to add isotopic evidence from rock samples to support the scenario.
The heavy isotope values of carbonates on Mars are significantly higher than carbonate minerals observed on Earth, and are the heaviest carbon and oxygen isotope values ever recorded in Martian material.
In fact, both wet-dry and cold-saline climates are required to form carbonates, which are extremely rich in heavy carbon and oxygen.
“The fact that these carbon and oxygen isotope values are higher than any other measured on Earth or Mars indicates that the process is extreme,” Dr. Burt said.
“While evaporation can cause significant oxygen isotope changes on Earth, the changes measured in this study were two to three times larger.”
“This means two things: (i) there was an extreme degree of evaporation that made these isotope values very heavy, and (ii) these heavier values were conserved so that the lighter isotopes The process that generated the body value must have significantly reduced its size.””
team’s paper Published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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David G. Burt others. 2024. High concentrations of carbon and oxygen isotopes in carbonate-derived CO2 At Gale Crater on Mars. PNAS 121 (42): e2321342121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2321342121
This article is based on a press release provided by NASA.
Leech waves on Mars are created when wind encounters an obstacle and builds up on the “leeward” or leeward side. Image courtesy of ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.
Mars Express's elliptical orbit allows the HRSC camera to observe the surface from a low altitude to map the planet at the highest possible resolution, but also to capture observations at a lower resolution from a higher altitude, covering a much larger portion of the surface in a typical edge-to-edge field of view.
These high altitude observations are ideal for observing Martian atmospheric phenomena.
More than 20 years have passed since the launch of the Mars Express mission, and a vast amount of image data on Martian atmospheric phenomena has been accumulated, which has great potential for scientific applications.
“Martian clouds are as diverse and fascinating as those seen in Earth's skies, but they also have some features that are unique to the Red Planet,” said Dr Daniela Tyrsch, researcher at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
“One of my favorite phenomena is the beautiful 'cloud street' – a linear line of fleecy clouds that form around the rise of the giant volcano Tharsis Mons and the lowlands of the Northern Hemisphere during the Northern Hemisphere spring and summer.”
“They are similar to cumulus clouds on Earth, but form under different atmospheric conditions.”
“Impressive dust clouds stretching hundreds of kilometres have also been observed, a phenomenon that is fortunately not experienced on Earth.”
Dust plays a major role in the Martian atmosphere and climate.
Rare upwelling events can cause beige, dusty clumps to drift through the planet's atmosphere.
Large differences in temperature and air pressure during certain seasons can create stronger than normal winds and kick up large amounts of dust from the Martian surface.
The dust cloud rising from the summit of the giant volcano resembles an eruptive cloud, even though it is no longer active.
Large, swirling dust storms and cyclones are also observed near the Martian north pole every year.
Studying these phenomena is crucial for scientists to understand the Martian atmosphere and air mass circulation.
Rolling “gravity clouds” are one of the most common formations on both Mars and Earth.
They are found in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres in winter, as well as over the Tharsis volcanic plateau in the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Lee waves are a special type of gravity cloud that can accumulate on the lee side of ridges, mountains, and other obstacles, forming repeating ridges.
Some of the cloud types studied are specific to certain locations and seasons, but there are also clouds such as “crepuscular clouds” that appear in the early morning at any time and any place throughout the year.
The new atlas provides valuable insight into the physics of clouds and storms, their appearance, and when and where they form.
This knowledge will not only help us better understand the dynamics of Mars' atmosphere and climate cycles, but will also be useful in studying the climates of other planets, such as Earth and Venus.
“ESA has extended the Mars Express mission until at least 2026, which will allow us to continue to enrich the database and further our understanding of the Martian atmosphere,” Dr Tilsch said.
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Daniella Tirsch others2024. Clouds and storms captured by HRSC – a catalog of Martian atmospheric phenomena. EPSC Abstract 17, EPSC2024-44; doi: 10.5194/epsc2024-44
The history of water on Mars is important for understanding the evolution of planets like Earth. Water escapes into space as atoms, but hydrogen (H) atoms escape faster than deuterium (D) (hydrogen atoms with a neutron in their nucleus), increasing the residual D/H ratio. The current ratio reflects the total amount of water Mars has lost.
These far-ultraviolet Hubble images show Mars near its farthest point from the Sun (aphelion) on December 31, 2017 (top), and Mars near its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) on December 19, 2016 (bottom). Images by NASA/ESA/STScI/John T. Clarke, Boston University.
There is ample evidence that Mars experienced an early wet period when liquid water flowed across the surface, leaving distinct erosion patterns and the presence of clay in the topsoil.
This wet climate period is thought to have ended over 3 billion years ago, and the fate of that water has attracted considerable interest.
As Mars cooled, some of the water remained trapped in the crust, some broke down into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and many of the atoms escaped into space through the upper atmosphere.
“There are only two places water can go: it freezes to the ground, or the water molecules break down into atoms and those atoms escape through the top of the atmosphere into space,” said Dr John Clark, a researcher at Boston University.
“To understand how much water there was and what became of it, we need to understand how the atoms escaped into space.”
In the new study, Dr Clark and his colleagues combined data from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to measure how many hydrogen atoms are escaping into space and the current rate of escape.
This information allowed the researchers to infer past rates of water escape and understand the history of water on Mars.
Specifically, the researchers measured hydrogen and its heavier isotope, deuterium.
Over time, more hydrogen than deuterium was lost, increasing the D/H ratio in the atmosphere.
Measuring this ratio today can give scientists clues about how much water may have been present on Mars during its warmer, wetter periods.
By studying how these atoms escape in the present, we can understand the processes that determined escape rates over the past 4 billion years and extrapolate back in time.
Most of the data comes from MAVEN, but the spacecraft is not sensitive enough to observe deuterium emissions throughout the entire Martian year.
Unlike Earth, Mars is farther from the Sun in its elliptical orbit during its long winters, making its deuterium emissions weaker.
The authors needed Hubble data to fill in the gaps and complete a three-Martian year (687 Earth days) annual cycle.
The Hubble Space Telescope also provided additional data going back to 1991, before MAVEN arrived at Mars in 2014.
Combining data from these missions provided the first complete picture of hydrogen atoms escaping Mars into space.
“In recent years, scientists have discovered that the annual cycle of Mars is much more dynamic than people would have expected 10 or 15 years ago,” Dr Clark said.
“The whole atmosphere is very turbulent, heating and cooling on short timescales of a few hours.”
“The brightness of the Sun on Mars varies by 40 percent over the course of a Martian year, causing the atmosphere to expand and contract.”
The team found that the rate at which hydrogen and deuterium are released changes dramatically as Mars gets closer to the Sun.
The classical view that scientists had until now was that these atoms would slowly diffuse upwards through the atmosphere until they reached a height where they could escape.
But that picture no longer accurately reflects the whole picture, because scientists now know that atmospheric conditions change very rapidly.
As Mars approaches the Sun, water molecules, the source of hydrogen and deuterium, rise rapidly through the atmosphere and release atoms at high altitudes.
The second discovery is that the transformation of hydrogen and deuterium is so rapid that the escape of the atoms requires additional energy to account for it.
At the temperatures of the upper atmosphere, very few atoms would be fast enough to escape Mars’ gravity.
When something gives atoms extra energy, faster (super hot) atoms are created.
These phenomena include the impact of solar wind protons entering the atmosphere and sunlight causing chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere.
of Survey results Published in the journal Scientific advances.
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John T. Clark others2024. Hydrogen and deuterium in the Martian atmosphere: seasonal changes and a paradigm for escape into space. Scientific advances 10(30);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm7499
Water on Mars may be lurking beneath or even above the planet’s surface.
NASA/JPL/USGS
Mars isn’t as dry as it seems. Billions of years ago, oceans and rivers of liquid water rippled across its surface, but now it appears that all of that liquid has disappeared, leaving behind a dusty barren landscape. But as we explore Mars with probes, landers, rovers, and even distant telescopic images, more and more traces of water are popping up.
Each hint fascinates researchers about how important water is to life and how it could aid future exploration. Water has now been found in various forms all over Mars. Here are five places where water has been found.
1. Buried underground
The InSight lander, visualized here, recently discovered new potential water reservoirs on Mars.
NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
Just beneath Mars’ dry surface lies an icy wonderland. These deposits are insulated by an overlying layer of dust, but erosion or meteorite impacts could expose them to the watchful eye of Mars orbiters. A single icy deposit recently identified using data from the Mars Express spacecraft appears to contain enough water to cover the entire Martian surface with an ocean 1.5 to 2.7 meters deep.
It’s not just ice buried under the orange sand. There’s a controversial theory that there’s a huge lake beneath Earth’s Antarctic pole. It could just be wet silt or volcanic rock. But… New Research Using data from the InSight lander, researchers have uncovered the possibility of another reservoir of water near the Martian equator. InSight found this water, buried 11.5 to 20 kilometers underground, by sensing Martian earthquakes and measuring the speed at which seismic waves travel. The results revealed that the rocks through which the earthquakes travel appear to be saturated with water.
2. Frost the pole
Frost in a crater on the North Plains of Mars
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Reaching buried water on Mars will be difficult. For future explorers, the more promising reservoirs are probably exposed on the surface. Mars has ice caps at both poles, just like Earth’s, and we’ve known about them for decades. Many of Mars’ craters also contain small ice sheets inside them, the only places on the Martian surface cold enough to hold ice.
However, at higher latitudes on Mars, the air is cooler and more moist, and temporary frosts can occur. On frigid Martian mornings, volcano peaks are also covered in frost, likely caused by water vapor in the atmosphere freezing.
Chloride deposits are indicators of the presence of water on early Mars and have important implications for understanding the Martian climate and habitability. Color and Stereo Surface Imaging Systems Using the spacecraft (CaSSIS) aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Trace Gases Explorer (TGO), planetary researchers conducted a planet-wide search for chloride-bearing deposits in Terra Sirenum and other parts of Mars.
This CaSSIS/TGO image shows chloride-bearing deposits (purple-colored scaly waves) in Terra Sirenum on Mars. Image credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS.
“Mars is currently a desert world, but around 3.5 billion years ago it was covered by rivers, lakes and possibly oceans,” said University of Bern researcher Valentin Bickel and his colleagues.
“The Cold Period began as Mars lost its magnetic field, could no longer retain its atmosphere, and water evaporated, froze, or became trapped within the surface.”
“Over time, the water disappeared, leaving behind mineral fingerprints on the surface.”
In this study, the researchers used neural networks to map potential chloride-bearing deposits in CaSSIS images across a large portion of Mars.
They identified a total of 965 potential chloride deposits ranging from 300 to 3,000 metres in diameter.
“These salt deposits probably formed from shallow pools or brines that evaporated in the sun,” the scientists said.
“Similar methods are used in saltwater pools on Earth to produce salt for human consumption.”
“Highly salty water could be a haven for life and an indicator of habitable parts of Mars,” the researchers added.
“Due to the high salinity, the water remains liquid even at minus 40 degrees.”
“The presence of chloride deposits, pictured above, and their direct association with liquid water, make areas like Terra Sirenum good targets for future robotic missions to search for signs of life.”
“While chloride-bearing terrains are not noticeable in regular black-and-white images, they show up as a distinct purple color in color infrared images, making CaSSIS a unique tool for studying the distribution of salts across Mars.”
“Our paper contains never-before-seen data that will help us better understand the distribution of water on Mars' distant past,” they said.
“TGO continues to image Mars from orbit to understand the planet's ancient past and potential habitability.”
“Not only will the spacecraft send back stunning images, it will also provide the best inventory of atmospheric gases and map water-rich areas on the planet's surface.”
“Understanding the history of water on Mars and whether it once allowed life to thrive is at the heart of ESA's ExoMars mission.”
Team paper Featured in this month's journal Scientific Data.
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VT Bickel others2024. Global dataset of potential chloride deposits on Mars identified by TGO CaSSIS. Scientific Data 11,845;doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-03685-3
Using new data about the Martian crust collected by NASA’s InSight spacecraft, geophysicists from the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, Berkeley estimate that groundwater could cover the entire planet to a depth of one to two kilometers. Groundwater exists in tiny cracks and pores in rocks in the mid-crust, 11.5 to 20 kilometers below the surface.
A cross section of NASA’s InSight lander and the data it collected. Image courtesy of James Tuttle Keane / Aaron Rodriquez.
“Liquid water existed at least occasionally in Martian rivers, lakes, oceans, and aquifers during the Noachian and Hesperian periods more than 3 billion years ago,” said Dr Vashan Wright of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues.
“During this time, Mars lost most of its atmosphere and therefore the ability to support liquid water on its surface for any sustained period of time.”
“Ancient surface water may have been incorporated into minerals, buried as ice, trapped as liquid in deep aquifers, or lost to space.”
For the study, Dr Wright and his colleagues used data collected by InSight during its four-year mission, which ends in 2022.
The lander collected information from the surface directly beneath it about variables such as the speed of Mars’ seismic waves, which allowed scientists to infer what materials exist beneath the surface.
The data was fed into a model based on mathematical theories of rock physics.
Based on this data, the researchers determined that the presence of liquid water in the Earth’s crust was the most plausible explanation.
“If we prove that there is a large reservoir of liquid water, it could give us insight into what the climate was or could be like at that time,” said Professor Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley.
“And water is essential for life as we know it. I don’t see why underground reservoirs wouldn’t be habitable environments. On Earth they certainly are. There is life in deep mines, there is life at the bottom of the ocean.”
“We still don’t have evidence of life on Mars, but we’ve identified places that could, at least in principle, support life.”
“A wealth of evidence, including rivers, deltas, lake deposits, and hydrologically altered rocks, supports the hypothesis that water once flowed on the planet’s surface.”
“But that wet period ended more than 3 billion years ago, when Mars lost its atmosphere.”
“Planetary scientists on Earth have sent many probes and landers to Mars to learn what happened to the Martian water (water frozen in the Martian polar ice caps does not explain the whole story), when this happened, and whether life exists or ever existed on Mars,” the authors said.
“The new findings indicate that much of the water has seeped into the crust rather than escaping into space.”
“The new paper analyzes the deeper crust and concludes that the available data are best explained by a water-saturated mid-crust beneath the InSight location.”
“Assuming the crust is similar across the planet, this mid-crustal zone should contain more water than would have filled the hypothetical ancient Martian ocean.”
of Survey results Appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Vashan Wright others2024. Liquid water exists in the central crust of Mars. PNAS 121 (35): e2409983121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2409983121
Mars A recent study indicates that the Earth may be hiding a global ocean beneath its surface, with cracks in rocks potentially holding enough water to form it.
Scientists believe that the water lies about seven to 12 miles (11.5 to 20 kilometers) deep in Mars’ crust, possibly originating from the planet’s ancient surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, and oceans billions of years ago, according to Vashan Wright, the lead scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
Despite the presence of water inside Mars, Wright noted that it does not necessarily mean that life exists there.
“However, our findings suggest the possibility of habitable environments,” he mentioned in an email.
The research team combined computer simulations with InSight data, including earthquake speeds, to suggest that groundwater is the most likely explanation. These results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
Wright remarked that if InSight’s observations near the equator of Mars at Elysium Planitia are representative of the entire planet, there could be enough groundwater to fill a terrestrial ocean approximately a mile (1 to 2 kilometers) deep.
Tools like drills will be required to verify the presence of water and search for signs of microbial life.
Despite the InSight lander no longer being in operation, scientists are still analyzing the data collected between 2018 and 2022 to gain more insights into Mars’ interior.
Over 3 billion years ago, Mars was mostly covered in water, but due to the thinning of its atmosphere, it lost its surface water, becoming the dry and dusty world we see today. It is believed by scientists that the ancient water either escaped into space or remains hidden underground.
Ideas for change Mars Towards a more livable world Human settlements It's a common theme in science fiction, but could this happen in the real world?
Scientists are now proposing a new approach to warming up. Neighbors of Earth The idea is to release artificial particles made of iron or aluminum, the same size as commercial glitter, into the atmosphere as an aerosol, trapping escaping heat and scattering sunlight onto the Martian surface. Greenhouse effect On Mars, the plan is to raise the surface temperature by about 50 degrees (28 °C) over a 10-year period.
While this alone wouldn't make Mars habitable for humans, the scientists behind the proposal believe it could be a feasible first step.
“Terraforming is the process of changing a planet's environment to be more similar to Earth. In the case of Mars, heating the planet is a necessary first step, but it is not enough. Previous concepts have focused on releasing greenhouse gases, which requires large amounts of resources that are in short supply on Mars,” said University of Chicago planetary scientist Edwin Kite, who led the study published in the journal Nature this week. Scientific advances.
“The key elements of our paper are the novel proposal to use engineered nanoparticles to warm the Martian atmosphere, and the climate modelling which suggests this approach could be much more efficient than previous concepts. This is important as it offers a more feasible way to alter the Martian climate and could inform future Mars exploration strategies,” Kite added.
NASA has sent a robotic rover to explore the surface of Mars and the InSight lander to explore the planet's interior. Project Artemis The goal is to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972 in the next few years, in preparation for future manned missions to Mars.
There are many challenges to living on Mars, including a lack of breathable oxygen, harmful ultraviolet rays due to the thin atmosphere, salty soil that is unsuitable for growing crops, and dust storms that sometimes cover large parts of the planet. But the planet's frigid temperatures are a serious obstacle.
“Our aim is to show that the idea of warming Mars is not impossible. We hope that our findings will inspire the broader scientific community and the general public to explore this intriguing idea,” said Samaneh Ansari, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois and lead author of the study.
The average surface temperature of Mars is about minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 65 degrees Celsius). Because the Martian atmosphere is thin, solar heat on the surface easily escapes into space. This proposal aims to have liquid water on the surface of Mars, where water exists in the form of ice at the poles and underground.
The scientists proposed releasing tiny, rod-shaped particles (nanorods) into the atmosphere at a rate of about eight gallons (30 liters) per second continuously for many years.
“The surface of Mars has an abundance of iron and aluminum, so the idea is to transport the materials, or even better, the manufacturing tools, to make nanorods on Mars,” Ansari said.
Researchers are mindful of the potential unintended consequences of terraforming another planet for the benefit of humanity: For example, scientists want to know whether Mars was ever alive in the past, or whether it still exists today in the form of subsurface microbial life.
“Nanoparticles could potentially heat Mars, but both the benefits and potential costs of this course of action are currently unknown. For example, in the unlikely event that Martian soil contains irreparable compounds that are toxic to all Earth-derived life, the benefits of heating Mars would be zero,” Kite said.
“On the other hand, the establishment of a photosynthetic biosphere on the Martian surface may increase the likelihood of human thriving in the solar system,” Kite added. “On the cost side, if life exists on Mars, studying that life may be sufficiently beneficial to warrant vigorous protection of the habitat.”
One-third of Mars’ surface has shallow groundwater, but it is currently too cold for life to harness it. Proposals to use greenhouse gases to heat Mars require large amounts of raw materials that are scarce on the Martian surface. But a new study shows that artificial aerosols made from materials readily available on Mars (such as conductive nanorods about 9 micrometers long) could heat Mars more than 5,000 times more effectively than the best gases.
This artist’s impression shows what Mars looked like about 4 billion years ago. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.
Mars geoengineering is a concept that frequently appears in science fiction.
But real-world researchers are also investigating techniques that could melt and release frozen groundwater, potentially making the Martian environment more hospitable to life.
Many of these strategies involve warming through greenhouse gases, but the Earth lacks the ingredients needed to produce them.
“A once habitable Martian surface is crossed by dry river valleys, but the current icy soil is too cold for Earth-derived life,” said Dr Samaneh Ansari of Northwestern University and his colleagues.
“Rivers may have flowed as far back as 600,000 years ago, suggesting the beginnings of a habitable planet.”
“Many methods have been proposed to heat the Martian surface by closing the spectral window centered on wavelengths of 22 and 10 micrometers, through which the surface would be cooled by thermal infrared radiation rising into space.”
“Modern Mars has a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere that provides a greenhouse effect of only 5 Kelvin through absorption in the 15 micrometer wavelength range, and Mars clearly lacks sufficient condensed or mineralized carbon dioxide to restore a temperate climate,” the researchers said.
“It is possible to close the spectral window using man-made greenhouse gases (e.g. chlorofluorocarbons), but this would require volatilizing about 100,000 megatons of fluorine, which is only present in trace amounts on the Martian surface.”
“An alternative approach is suggested by natural Martian dust aerosols, which are, after all, the result of the slow breakdown of iron-rich minerals on the Martian surface.”
“Due to its small size (effective radius of 1.5 micrometers), Martian dust rises to high altitudes (at an altitude of 15-25 km, where the dust mass mixing ratio peaks) and is consistently visible in the Martian sky, present at altitudes of up to 60 km or more.”
“Natural Martian dust aerosols reduce daytime surface temperatures because the composition and shape properties of man-made dust can be modified. For example, nanorods, which are about half the wavelength of upwelling thermal infrared light, should interact strongly with that infrared light.”
In the new paper, Dr Ansari and his co-authors propose an alternative strategy for heating Mars: aerosolizing 9-micrometre-long nanorods made from iron and aluminium, which are available on Mars.
The bars are about the same size as natural Martian dust — essentially a bit smaller than glitter — and should fly up into the air when dispersed.
However, other properties of the rod-shaped material mean it should settle 10 times slower than natural dust.
The researchers evaluated their proposal using a version of the MarsWRF global climate model and another complementary 1D model.
The study found that these bars amplify the amount of sunlight reaching the Martian surface and prevent heat from escaping.
In fact, a sustained release of 30 liters of nanorods per second could warm the entire planet by more than 30 Kelvin above baseline temperature, enough to melt the ice.
After a few months, atmospheric pressure will rise by 20%, creating conditions to initiate a feedforward loop involving the volatilization of carbon dioxide.
It’s worth noting that the nanorod process will still take centuries, and Mars certainly won’t be a suitable place for human habitation.
“The increase in Martian temperature alone will not be sufficient to make the Martian surface habitable for oxygenic photosynthetic organisms,” the scientists said.
“On the other hand, establishing a photosynthetic biosphere on the Martian surface, possibly with the help of synthetic biology, might increase the chances of human thriving in the solar system.”
Team work Published in today’s journal Scientific advances.
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Samaneh Ansari others2024. Nanoparticles could keep Mars warm. Scientific advances 10(32);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adn4650
Terraforming Mars would make it more similar to Earth, creating an environment capable of supporting life as we know it.
Detlef van Ravensweig/Science Photo Library
Releasing iron rods the size of glitter particles into the Martian atmosphere could raise the planet's temperature enough to melt water and support microbial life.
Making the Red Planet's surface habitable for Earth-like life – a process known as “terraforming” – will be a complex one, but a key part of it will be raising the surface temperature above the current median freezing point of -65°C (-85°F).
Some have suggested placing mirrors on the Martian surface or pumping methane into the atmosphere, but these ideas are difficult to implement because the necessary raw materials would need to be shipped from Earth.
now, Edwin Kite Researchers at the University of Chicago in Illinois found that a relatively tiny dust cloud (about 9 micrometers long and 160 nanometers wide) made from iron or aluminum rods mined from Martian rocks could warm Mars by about 30 degrees Celsius over the course of a few months to more than a decade, depending on how quickly the particles are released.
These rods, each about 9 micrometers long and 160 nanometers wide, are carried by winds from the surface into Mars' upper atmosphere, where they will remain for about 10 years, trapping heat from the surface and transmitting sunlight.
Kite and his colleagues modeled how the rods respond to light and fed that information into climate simulations, which showed that the increased temperature and pressure would be enough to support liquid water and possibly oxygen-producing bacteria in parts of Mars.
They also found that to achieve this warming, it would be enough to release the fuel rods at a rate fast enough to power about 30 garden sprinklers — a total of 700,000 cubic meters of metal per year, or about 1% of Earth's metal production.
“When we did the math, we found that the amount of man-made dust we needed would be surprisingly small — much less than we would need to create the same amount of warming with man-made greenhouse gases,” Kyte says.
While mining the Martian surface would still be difficult, Kite says this would be 5,000 times more efficient than any warming method proposed so far.
One of the big uncertainties in the simulations is how the tiny bars interact with water in the Martian atmosphere, which could have unexpected effects such as causing the water to collect around the dust and rain down back to the surface, reducing global warming.
It's an intriguing idea that might work if the particles remain in the atmosphere long enough, he said. Manoj Joshi researcher at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. But even if the amount of metal needed is small, he says it would still be an enormous amount of work to produce.
Joshi said there are also ethical questions about whether it's OK to alter the atmosphere of another planet: “Mars is so unexplored and we don't know much about it. Is it OK to alter a planet in this way?”
Terraforming Mars would make it more similar to Earth, creating an environment capable of supporting life as we know it.
Detlef van Ravensweig/Science Photo Library
Releasing iron rods the size of glitter particles into the Martian atmosphere could raise the planet's temperature enough to melt water and support microbial life.
Making the Red Planet's surface habitable for Earth-like life – a process known as “terraforming” – will be a complex one, but a key part of it will be raising the surface temperature above the current median freezing point of -65°C (-85°F).
Some have suggested placing mirrors on the Martian surface or pumping methane into the atmosphere, but these ideas are difficult to implement because the necessary raw materials would need to be shipped from Earth.
now, Edwin Kite Researchers at the University of Chicago in Illinois found that a relatively tiny dust cloud (about 9 micrometers long and 160 nanometers wide) made from iron or aluminum rods mined from Martian rocks could warm Mars by about 30 degrees Celsius over the course of a few months to more than a decade, depending on how quickly the particles are released.
These rods, each about 9 micrometers long and 160 nanometers wide, are carried by winds from the surface into Mars' upper atmosphere, where they will remain for about 10 years, trapping heat from the surface and transmitting sunlight.
Kite and his colleagues modeled how the rods respond to light and fed that information into climate simulations, which showed that the increased temperature and pressure would be enough to support liquid water and possibly oxygen-producing bacteria in parts of Mars.
They also found that to achieve this warming, it would be enough to release the fuel rods at a rate fast enough to power about 30 garden sprinklers — a total of 700,000 cubic meters of metal per year, or about 1% of Earth's metal production.
“When we did the math, we found that the amount of man-made dust we needed would be surprisingly small — much less than we would need to create the same amount of warming with man-made greenhouse gases,” Kyte says.
While mining the Martian surface would still be difficult, Kite says this would be 5,000 times more efficient than any warming method proposed so far.
One of the big uncertainties in the simulations is how the tiny bars interact with water in the Martian atmosphere, which could have unexpected effects such as causing the water to collect around the dust and rain down back to the surface, reducing global warming.
It's an intriguing idea that might work if the particles remain in the atmosphere long enough, he said. Manoj Joshi researcher at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. But even if the amount of metal needed is small, he says it would still be an enormous amount of work to produce.
Joshi said there are also ethical questions about whether it's OK to alter the atmosphere of another planet: “Mars is so unexplored and we don't know much about it. Is it OK to alter a planet in this way?”
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