Evidence uncovered by the Mars rover Curiosity reveals that ancient Mars had an environment similar to Earth
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Mars is said to be a planet that is particularly similar to Earth in the solar system, and evidence of the existence of water in the past and organic compounds that may be signs of life have been discovered. NASA's unmanned Mars rover, Curiosity , has recently discovered evidence that 'ancient Mars had an environment similar to Earth.'
Manganese‐Rich Sandstones as an Indicator of Ancient Oxic Lake Water Conditions in Gale Crater, Mars - Gasda - 2024 - Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets - Wiley Online Library
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JE007923
New findings on an Earth-like environment on ancient Mars
https://discover.lanl.gov/news/0501-ancient-mars/
More evidence that ancient Mars was Earth-like and habitable • Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/manganese-discovery-ancient-mars-earth-like-water-lake-habitable/
The Mars rover Curiosity is carrying over 80 kg of scientific instruments and is conducting detailed analysis of materials on the Martian surface. One of the scientific instruments on board Curiosity is ChemCam , which analyzes the elemental composition of rocks and soil.
A research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory analyzed the data collected by ChemCam and found that the rocks at the bottom of Gale Crater , where Curiosity is exploring, contain higher-than-normal concentrations of manganese . Gale Crater is thought to have once been the bottom of a lake, and manganese is thought to have accumulated at the bottom of the lake.
'On Earth, because of the high oxygen levels in the atmosphere, these deposits are constantly being produced by photosynthetic organisms and microorganisms that catalyze the oxidation of manganese,' said Patrick Gasda, a researcher in the Space Sciences and Applications Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
However, there is no evidence that life ever existed on Mars, and the mechanism by which atmospheric oxygen was generated on ancient Mars is unknown, so it is surprising that such high concentrations of manganese were found in Gale Crater.
'These findings suggest larger processes are occurring in the Martian atmosphere and water on the surface,' Gasda said. 'And they show that more work is needed to understand Martian oxidation.'
On Earth, manganese is concentrated by atmospheric oxygen, a process often accelerated by microorganisms. Microorganisms on Earth can use manganese oxides as metabolic energy, so if ancient life existed on Mars, the manganese at the lake bottom could have been a useful energy source.
'The lake environment at Gale Crater revealed by these ancient rocks suggests that Mars may have had a habitable environment remarkably similar to that on Earth today,' said Nina Lanza of Los Alamos National Laboratory, principal investigator for the ChemCam instrument. 'Manganese minerals are commonly found in shallow, oxygen-rich waters on the shores of Earth's lakes, so it's surprising to find this feature on ancient Mars.'
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