Space & Astronomy

Did warm water once flow on Mars ?

By T.K. Randall
November 17, 2012 ·  4 comments

Image Credit: NASA The hunt for water on Mars has always been considered to be the key to finding life. We know that Mars was once rich in rivers and bodies of liquid water but was that enough for life to have developed ? In a new paper, John Bridges has claimed that impacts on the Martian surface may have heated up the water enough for this to happen. The analysis of certain meteorites believed to have come from Mars has revealed minerals that form due to the action of water near the surface including iron carbonate which only forms at higher temperatures.

"Our results show that environments associated with this type of fluid were habitable," wrote Bridges and physical science research associate Susanne Schwenzer. "The Martian subsurface fluid forming phyllosilicates provided habitable temperatures and many of the nutrients required for life."[!gad]The hunt for water on Mars has always been considered to be the key to finding life. We know that Mars was once rich in rivers and bodies of liquid water but was that enough for life to have developed ? In a new paper, John Bridges has claimed that impacts on the Martian surface may have heated up the water enough for this to happen. The analysis of certain meteorites believed to have come from Mars has revealed minerals that form due to the action of water near the surface including iron carbonate which only forms at higher temperatures.

"Our results show that environments associated with this type of fluid were habitable," wrote Bridges and physical science research associate Susanne Schwenzer. "The Martian subsurface fluid forming phyllosilicates provided habitable temperatures and many of the nutrients required for life."

Source: Wired | Comments (4)

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