Scientists Find Evidence Of Iron And Calcium-Rich Carbonates On Mars; Studying Life On It
According to the researches done by the scientists on Mars, it is said that evidence was found on the planet with habitable environments with water and some other resources. It is also said that deposits of iron- and calcium-rich carbonates on the red planet are buried.
“Identification of these ancient carbonates and clays on Mars represents a window into history when the climate on Mars was very different from the cold and dry desert of today,” Janice Bishop of the SETI Institute in the US said.
The carbonates under the surface suggest that the environment on Mars was warmer and wetter. Hence, the emergence of life on Mars could be encouraged by the presence of water on the planet. The scientists are now discussing the fate of water on Mars as the red planet is currently dry and cold. According to scientists, the base of Mars should be full of carbonates and clays if water did once flow on its surface.
But it’s hard for the scientists to find the physical evidence for the carbonate-rich base on the red planet. However, the researchers are now focussing their search on the Huygens basin of Mars. According to researchers, in order to study carbonates, this feature is an ideal site. “The reason is that the ancient, subsurface materials have been exposed by multiple impact craters and troughs. Their carbonates can be detected across a broad region,” they said.
After the study on Mars, the scientists found an evidence of carbonate-bearing rocks in multiple sites across Mars, including Lucaya crater, have been highlighted. This has been done by using data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), which is currently on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The study is very much helpful in understanding the potential habitability of ancient Mars.