🚀 Life would explain the abundance of this compound on Mars

2024-05-09 06:00:04

NASA’s Curiosity rover, exploring the 154-kilometer-diameter Gale Crater on Mars, continues to make surprising discoveries. Since its landing in 2012, it has revealed that this region was once submerged, a point supported by recent findings.

A section of the Murray Formation explored by Curiosity, which may represent an ancient shoreline.
Crédit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/USGS

In 2016, Curiosity detected traces of manganese dioxide in the crater. Today, much larger quantities have been identified, particularly in a mudstone (form of clay) geological unit called the Murray Formation. This compound, generally associated with lakes or river deltas rich in oxygen on Terreis a potential indicator of conditions conducive to vie. The current abundance of manganese dioxide raises questions because its formation normally requires a lot of oxygen, a rare element on Mars. Scientists suggest that the manganese dioxide may come from groundwater passing through the coarser, more porous mudstone of the area between Sutton Island and Blunts Point, two areas that mark the boundaries of an ancient lac or delta.

This discovery suggests not only that Mars had a habitable environment billions of years ago, but also that microbes could have lived there, using manganese dioxide as a source of energy.energy chemical, All like some people do on Earth.

The presence of this compound strengthens the theory of a lake environment similar to habitable places on Earth, providing a new perspective on the history of Mars and its ancient conditions favorable for life.

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