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With its iconic rusty color, Mars The red planet has long been called. Now, scientists may have discovered the potential source of this distinguished coloring, which led to the fluctuation of a popular theory in this process.
Mars is one of the most well -studied planets in our solar system because of its proximity to Earth and many spacecraft that have visited it over the past few decades. Together, the orgers of the datab scientists that show that the color of the red Mars comes from the rusty iron minerals inside the dust that overwhelms the planet.
At some point, the iron reaction inside the rocks on Mars was with water or water and oxygen in the air, creating iron oxide – in the same way as rust on the ground. For billions of years, iron oxide erupted into dust and settled throughout the planet after it was transported by the winds of Mars, which still revolve between the demons of dust and huge dust storms.
Previous analyzes of iron oxide on Mars, which depend only on the observations made by spacecraft, did not discover any evidence of water, which led researchers to believe that iron oxide should be hematite. It was believed that the dry metal, a major component of iron ore, may be formed through reactions with the Mars atmosphere in a process that occurred over billions of years. If this is the case, the hematite would have been formed later in the history of Mars, after it was suspected of hosting lakes and rivers on their surface.
A new research between data from multiple tasks and frequent dust of Mars suggested that the minerals that are formed in the presence of cold water may be responsible for the red color, instead of hematite, which can change the way scientists understand what Mars was the same as millions of years ago – and whether it is It is likely to be valid for housing. A team of scientists reported the results on Tuesday in the magazine Nature Communications.
“Mars is the Red Planet,” said the head of the study author at the University of Brown, the author of the main study at the University of Brown, in a statement. “It is only that we understood the reason for the transformation of the red Mars.”
Dust
Scientists have wondered about the accurate composition of iron oxide in Mars dust, because understanding how to form it will enable them to look back mainly at the time when the environment and the climate on the old Mars were.
However, although dust covers everything on Mars, it is difficult to study and display a mystery, said Brione Horgan, who is participating in preserving perseverance Rover Mission and Professor of Planetary Sciences at Bordeaux University in West Lavaiite, Indiana. Horgan did not participate in the study.
Horgan said: “The particles (from the oxidized iron) are very small (nanometers or less) so that they do not really have a specific crystal structure and cannot be called real minerals.” “There are ways to form oxidant iron without water, and some of the proposed dry operations include oxidation of the surface, such as oxidation peels that are formed in the rocks in dry valleys in Antarctica, and the oxidation of the surface by corrosion when the surface is detonated with sand granules over long periods. But there is also a lot. One of the ways to oxidize water as well, including in soil and lakes. “
The new analysis indicates a different type of iron oxide that contains water called Verheidrit, which is quickly formed in cold water – and is likely to form on Mars when there is still water on the surface before the planet increases cooler and more satisfactory. Previous research Ferrihydrite suggested as a possible reason to identify Mars, but the new study collected laboratory methods with monitoring data for the first time to provide evidence.
“This paper tries to know any crystalline iron oxide that can be responsible for the red component of Mars dust, which will be useful to work because this can help us in determining the process that produces dust and when that happened,” he said.
The symmetrical copies of the dust of Mars in the team include a mixture of Verihidrait and the laboratory basalt, which was identified on the best spacecraft notes than the real Mars dust. – A. Valantinas
Valantinas and his team benefited from the data collected by Mars Express Orbiter from the European Space Agency and EXOMARS, as well as the orbit of Mars survey in NASA and curiousityPathfinder, and Rover’s opportunity.
The cassette camera of the gas cassette, also known as the surface imaging system in colors and the sterio surface, has unveiled the exact size and the formation of dust particles on Mars, allowing researchers to create their own copies on the ground.
Scientists have invented their Mars dust in a laboratory using different types of iron oxide. Symmetrical dust has been placed through a specialized mill to create equal size pills for those on Mars with a thickness equivalent to 1/100 of human hair.
The team analyzed dust using X -ray machines and a reflection, similar to the techniques used by the orbits that are studying Mars during the planet circle. Then, scientists compare laboratory data with spacecraft data.
The reflection of the reflection in March Omega showed that even the most dust parts of Mars carries evidence of water -rich minerals, while data from Cassis indicate that Verheidrrit is the best dust matching on Mars, instead of hematite, compared to the laboratory samples, Valentine said.
Nicholas Thomas, a professor at the Burn University Institute in Switzerland, who led the team that developed the camera, said that the tool has been watching Mars since April 2018, as it takes high -resolution colored pictures of Mars.
“We have found that Verheidret is mixed with basalt, and a volcanic rock, suitable for the minerals that the spacecraft sees in Mars,” said Valentinas, who started his research at Burn University using the tracking orbits of the track. “The main implicit meaning is that since Verheidrit could only be formed when the water was still on the surface, Mars collided earlier than we thought previously. Moreover, the Verhydrite is still stable under today’s conditions on Mars. “
Aquatic past
Valentine said that the secret of Mars had lasted thousands of years ago.
The Romans called the Mars of the God of War because its color reminded us of blood and the Egyptians called the planet “Desher”, and this means “The Red One”, according to the European Space Agency.
Valentinas said that the discovery of Mars may be due to the rusty minerals containing water, such as Verehederet, unlike rust without water, and the researchers surprised. But it provides exciting evidence about the history of Mars and the climate.
“Since these rust blankets containing water most of Mars, it indicates that liquid water in the old past of Mars may have been more prevalent than he previously thought,” said Valentinas. This indicates that Mars had one day an environment where the liquid water was present, which is a prerequisite for life. Our study reveals that the formation of the Verhydrite on Mars requires the presence of both oxygen – whether from the atmosphere or other sources – and the water that is able to respond with iron. “
This European Space Agency draws how Mars moved from a gray and wet planet to a dry and red planet. – Esa
The study did not focus on determining when the minerals were formed exactly. However, since Ferrihydrite is formed in cold water, it is possible that it was created about 3 billion years ago, unlike when the planet was warmer and more moisture millions of years ago.
“This was a time for intense volcanic activity on Mars, which is likely to cause ice and interactions between water and rocks, providing favorable conditions for the formation of the Verhydrite,” said Valentinas. “The timing is in line with a period when Mars was moving from its previous wet condition to its current desert environment.”
It is possible that in addition to its presence in dust, Ferrihydrite is also in layers of rock music. The best way to tell it will be to get actual samples of rocks and dust from the Red Planet. ROOPR has already gathered multiple samples containing both, NASA and ESA hoped to use a complex series of missions under MARS sample program to return to Earth by the early 1930s.
“Once we get these precious samples in the laboratory, we will be able to measure the amount of dust containing dust, and what this means to understand the history of water – and the possibility of life – on Mars,” he said. Colin Wilson, Esa -tracking gas orbit Rapid Mars The project world, in a statement.
Meanwhile, the results of the new puzzles for Valantinas and its colleagues are offered to solve them, including the original source of the Verhydrite source before it was distributed globally through Mars through dirt storms and precise chemical composition of the Mars atmosphere when Verheidrit was formed.
Horgan said that the understanding of when and where the dust form can help scientists gain an insightful look on how the atmosphere of early Earth’s planets has evolved.
Horgan said: “The Verhydrrit is really common in the soil on the ground that has a lot of water through which it moves in a short period of time, either because of the melting of snow or short periods of intense rain in warmer climates,” Horgan said. “We have also seen evidence of Verheidrit in the lake deposits in the storm hole (Mars” (which is explored by curiosity). The best way to solve this puzzle is to get a sample of Mars in our laboratories on Earth. “
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