A groundbreaking discovery from an international research team led by Purdue University (USA) has pinpointed the existence of liquid water on Mars by analyzing the Lafayette meteorite.
This research has just been published in the journal Geochemical Perspective Letters, providing new insights into the geological history of the Red Planet.
Dr. Marissa Tremblay, the lead researcher from the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University, utilized noble gases such as helium, neon, and argon to study the physical and chemical processes that shape the surfaces of Earth and other planets. She noted that some Martian meteorites contain minerals formed through interactions with liquid water while still on the planet.
Lafayette Meteorite. (Photo: eaps.purdue.edu).
By dating these minerals in the Lafayette meteorite, scientists discovered that they were formed 742 million years ago. “We do not believe there was much liquid water on the surface of Mars at that time,” Dr. Tremblay explained.
“Instead, we think this water source came from the melting of permafrost beneath the surface, triggered by volcanic activity that continues periodically on Mars to this day.”
This study is particularly important because it is the first time scientists have been able to accurately determine when liquid water existed on Mars.
Dr. Ryan Ickert, a co-author of the study and a senior scientist at Purdue University, emphasized that previous isotopic data used to estimate the timing of water-rock interactions on Mars may have been influenced by other processes.
The research team demonstrated that their findings were not affected by other factors such as impacts when the meteorite left Mars, temperatures in space during its 11 million-year flight, or the heating process when passing through Earth’s atmosphere.
The Lafayette meteorite has quite an interesting history
It was discovered in a… drawer at Purdue University in 1931, with no clear explanation as to how it got there.
This is one of the few meteorites that can be directly traced back to Mars. Scientists determined it was ejected from the Martian surface due to an impact approximately 11 million years ago.
This was confirmed through the analysis of isotopes generated by cosmic ray bombardment in space.
This new discovery not only helps deepen our understanding of Mars’ geological history but also opens new methods for studying other meteorites.
Dr. Tremblay stated: “We have reliably demonstrated a way to date altered minerals in meteorites. This method can be applied to other meteorites and celestial bodies to determine when liquid water may have been present.”
Research will continue to develop at Purdue University thanks to the Stahura University Meteorite Research Fund, allowing undergraduate students to participate in the geochemical studies and history of meteorites.
