Mars seen by ESA Rosetta Probe in its natural color.
Mars has captured scientists and the public for centuries, not only for the remote probability of extraterrestrial life, but also for the reddish shade of the planet. But what exactly gives the planet its virtual color?
The results from a new study published by researchers from Brown University and the University of Bern suggest that the water -rich mineral ferrite may be the main pigment behind the reddish dust of Mars. Their theory-which they have reached by analyzing data by Marbiters, Rovers and Laboratory simulations-is in contrast to the prevailing theory that the bloodthirsty blood mineral-oxide is the reason for the color of the planet.
“The fundamental issue of why Mars is Red has been considered for hundreds, if not for thousands of years,” the first writer says Adomas (adam) valantinasA postdoctoral partner in Brown, who started this project as Ph.D. Student at the University of Bern.
Researchers analyzed data from multiple Mars missions by combining orbital observations from NASA’s Orbiter Reconnaissance Orbiter and the European Space Agency Ars Express with soil measurements by the Rovers Curiosity; Pathfinder and Opportunity.
The instruments for Orbiters and Rovers provided detailed spectral data on the dusty surface of the planet, revealing the chemical composition. These findings were then compared to laboratory experiments, where the group examined how light interacts with different minerals with the same chemical composition under simulated conditions of Mars.
“From our analysis, we believe that Ferrihydrite is everywhere in dust and probably in the formations of the rocks, we are also not the first to think that Ferrihydrite is the reason why Mars is red, but has never proven the way we have proved it now using observational data and new labs.”
Artificial dust of Mars showing the typical red shade.
“Mars’ dust is very small in size, so that we can carry out realistic and precise measurements we simulated the sizes of our mixtures to fit them on Mars,” Valadinos continues. “We used an advanced mill machine that reduced the size of the ferrite and the basalt in sizes of hypomicron.
Hematite It was suggested as a pigment that gives Mars its distinct color because it can be formed under dry conditions. In this model, intense ultraviolet radiation as it experiences in Mars forces charges iron particles to react with oxygen, forming iron oxide without the need for water.
Ferrite It is a mineral iron oxide formed in water -rich environments. On Earth, it is usually associated with processes such as the weather of volcanic rocks and ash. Until now, its role in the composition of the Mars surface was not well understood, but this new research suggests that it could be an important part of the dust that covers the surface of the planet.
The finding offers an impressive indication of Mars’s more humid and potentially more habitable past, because in contrast to hematite, which is typically formed under hotter, drier conditions, a ferry -in -law is formed. This suggests that Mars may have had an environment capable of maintaining wet water – a key ingredient for life – and that it was transferred from a liquid to dry environment billions of years ago.
The study“Ferrihydrite’s detection in the Aryan red dust records ancient cold and wet conditions on Mars,” published in the magazine Nature communications.
Additional material and interviews provided by University and Esa.
