Thanks to its proximity to the world and the sending of dozens of spacecraft, Mars became one of the most detailed planets in the Solar System.
The data obtained from the vehicles in orbit and on the surface revealed that the red color of Mars comes from rusty iron minerals in dust covering the surface of the planet.
However, a new study revealed that the red color on Mars may be associated with a mineral called Ferrihidrit, not from hematitis, as previously thought.
The study, published in Nature Communications, can show that water is more common in Mars’ past, as well as new clues as to whether the planet is livable.
Dust layer on Mars was examined
Understanding the formation of iron oxidine covering the surface of Mars can help scientists re -construct the planet’s past climate and environment. However, it is very difficult to examine the dust layer.
According to CNN International, scientists in the new research, the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express and Exomars Trace Gas Orbiter tasks, as well as NASA’s Mars Discovery Satellite and Travelers Curiosity, Pathfinder and Opportunity data obtained from the data obtained.
Trace Gas Orbiter’s Cassıs imaging system has determined the size and components of dust particles on Mars.
Researchers later examined different types of iron oxide by producing the same in the laboratory. This mixture, which consists of ferrihidrite and basalt, was determined as the best matching composition with Mars dust.
Mars’ history can be rewritten
Adomas Valandinas of the research team said that the findings obtained provide important information about the past of Mars.
Valantinas said, “Mars is still a Red Planet, but our understanding of why it was red, Fer Ferrihidritis could only occur in the presence of water, and therefore Mars has shown that it was rushed long before it was thought.
These findings indicate that Mars’s water -containing mineral layers are common on the surface of the planet. It is stated that Mars was the scene of intensive volcanic activity about 3 billion years ago and that this process may have triggered water and rock interactions by melting ice.
In the future, NASA and ESA’s common Mars Numune Return Program within the scope of the planet, rock and dust samples to be brought from the planet can offer more precise data on Mars’s water history. With the analysis of these samples, scientists hope to better understand how the atmosphere of Mars and the water cycle work in the past.
