A new map, years in the making, reveals where we can find ancient traces of water on Mars.
's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, both currently in orbit around the red planet, scientists have created the most comprehensive map yet of specific Martian mineral deposits.
And, contrary to expectations, the map shows that wherever we go on Mars, we're bound to find something interesting.Before the survey started, there were around a thousand known aqueous mineral deposits on Mars. The new work, led by planetary scientist John Carter of the University of Paris-Saclay and Aix Marseille University in France, has identified rather significantly more.
Studying these minerals in greater detail can reveal how much water has, historically, been present on Mars. The work of Carter and his colleagues has revealed the presence of the minerals mentioned above as well as sulfate and carbonate salts through spectrometric data. That's the measurement of light reflected by an object; both orbiters are equipped with spectrometers, the data from which complement each other on the mineralogy of the Martian surface.
Some of the salts in the new map seem to be older than some of the clays, and, in some regions, the two are mixed in a way that suggests they may be contemporaneous."The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn't just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars,""That's the first result of our study.
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