New mineral discovered on Mars!
Indicating that Mars had oxygen in the past.
Reported by Russian on August 10.
The US Mars rover discovered a substance never seen elsewhere in the solar system in the shadow of a giant mountain in Valles Marineris.
In these sulfate deposits formed billions of years ago, spectral data showed some strange stripes, different from common minerals on Mars.
It was these stripes that led researchers to discover an iron sulfate containing hydroxyl, a compound that could become a new mineral in scientific literature.
The formation of this mineral requires conditions not present on Mars today: high temperature and oxygen.
On Earth, this mineral may form near volcanoes or deep-sea hydrothermal vents, but on the red planet, it means there was once geological activity.
The reaction that forms this mineral also produces water - this rare substance raises the possibility of ancient life.
Scientists are trying to recreate this discovery in the laboratory.
Without heat and oxygen, the required crystal structure cannot form, which strengthens the version that the Martian mineral originated from volcanic or hydrothermal sources.
This is a unique window showing that if such a compound was formed, the atmosphere of ancient Mars had oxygen, and the planet may have been more habitable.
Now, researchers need to find similar minerals on Earth to officially confirm this discovery.
But even without this, the significance of this discovery is already special:
It silently tells the story of a planet that may have once had life.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840016268689420/
Statement: The article represents the views of its author.