{"id":13135,"date":"2025-02-25T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-new-study-on-why-mars-is-red-supports-potentially-habitable-past\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:00:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:00:31","slug":"nasa-new-study-on-why-mars-is-red-supports-potentially-habitable-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-new-study-on-why-mars-is-red-supports-potentially-habitable-past\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA: New Study on Why Mars is Red Supports Potentially Habitable Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA: New Study on Why Mars is Red Supports Potentially Habitable Past<\/h2>\n

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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A new international study partially funded by NASA on how Mars got its iconic red color adds to evidence that Mars had a cool but wet and potentially habitable climate in its ancient past.<\/p>\n

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\"Mars<\/a><\/figure>
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Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The distance is 2500 kilometers from the surface of the planet, with the scale being .6km\/pixel. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. The center of the scene (lat -8, long 78) shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, over 2000 kilometers long and up to 8 kilometers deep, extending form Noctis Labyrinthus, the arcuate system of graben to the west, to the chaotic terrain to the east. Many huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain from north-central canyons and run north. The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark red spots), each about 25 kilometers high, are visible to the west. South of Valles Marineris is very ancient terrain covered by many impact craters.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The current atmosphere of Mars is too cold and thin to support liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, on its surface for lengthy periods. However, various NASA and international missions have found evidence that water was abundant on the Martian surface billions of years ago during a more clement era, such as features that resemble dried-up rivers and lakes, and minerals that only form in the presence of liquid water.<\/p>\n

Adding to this evidence, results from a study published February 25 in the journal Nature Communications<\/a> suggest that the water-rich iron mineral ferrihydrite may be the main culprit behind Mars\u2019 reddish dust. Martian dust is known to be a hodgepodge of different minerals, including iron oxides, and this new study suggests one of those iron oxides, ferrihydrite, is the reason for the planet\u2019s color.<\/p>\n

The finding offers a tantalizing clue to Mars\u2019 wetter and potentially more habitable past because ferrihydrite forms in the presence of cool water, and at lower temperatures than other previously considered minerals, like hematite. This suggests that Mars may have had an environment capable of sustaining liquid water before it transitioned from a wet to a dry environment billions of years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fundamental question of why Mars is red has been considered for hundreds if not for thousands of years,\u201d said lead author Adam Valantinas, a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island,<\/strong> who started the work as a Ph.D. student at the University of Bern, Switzerland. \u201cFrom our analysis, we believe ferrihydrite is everywhere in the dust and also probably in the rock formations, as well. We\u2019re not the first to consider ferrihydrite as the reason for why Mars is red, but we can now better test this using observational data and novel laboratory methods to essentially make a Martian dust in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Laboratory<\/a><\/figure>
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Laboratory sample showing simulated Martian dust. The ochre color is characteristic of iron-rich ferrihydrite, a mineral that provides crucial insights into ancient water activity and environmental conditions on Mars. The fine-powder mixture consists of ferrihydrite and ground basalt with particles less than one micrometer in size (1\/100th diameter of a human hair) (Sample scale: 1 inch across).<\/div>\n
Adam Valantinas<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThese new findings point to a potentially habitable past for Mars and highlight the value of coordinated research between NASA and its international partners when exploring fundamental questions about our solar system and the future of space exploration,\u201d said Geronimo Villanueva<\/a>, the Associate Director for Strategic Science of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-author of this study.<\/p>\n

The researchers analyzed data from multiple Mars missions, combining orbital observations from instruments on NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ESA\u2019s (the European Space Agency) Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter with ground-level measurements from NASA rovers like Curiosity, Pathfinder, and Opportunity. Instruments on the orbiters and rovers provided detailed spectral data of the planet\u2019s dusty surface. These findings were then compared to laboratory experiments, where the team tested how light interacts with ferrihydrite particles and other minerals under simulated Martian conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we want to understand is the ancient Martian climate, the chemical processes on Mars \u2014 not only ancient \u2014 but also present,\u201d said Valantinas. \u201cThen there\u2019s the habitability question: Was there ever life? To understand that, you need to understand the conditions that were present during the time of this mineral\u2019s formation. What we know from this study is the evidence points to ferrihydrite forming and for that to happen there must have been conditions where oxygen from air or other sources and water can react with iron. Those conditions were very different from today\u2019s dry, cold environment. As Martian winds spread this dust everywhere, it created the planet\u2019s iconic red appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the team\u2019s proposed formation model is correct could be definitively tested after samples from Mars are delivered to Earth for analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe study really is a door-opening opportunity,\u201d said Jack Mustard of Brown University, a senior author on the study. \u201cIt gives us a better chance to apply principles of mineral formation and conditions to tap back in time. What\u2019s even more important though is the return of the samples from Mars that are being collected right now by the Perseverance rover. When we get those back, we can actually check and see if this is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the spectral measurements were performed at NASA\u2019s Reflectance Experiment Laboratory (RELAB) at Brown University. RELAB is supported by NASA\u2019s Planetary Science Enabling Facilities program, part of the Planetary Science Division of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\n

By <\/strong>William Steigerwald<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n

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