Mars may still be volcanically active, with signs of an eruption in the past 50,000 years or so and hence raising the possibility that Red Planet was recently habitable. This has been suggested in a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Planetary Science Institute. The researchers have presented their study’s findings in a paper titled “Evidence for geologically recent explosive volcanism in Elysium Planitia, Mars," published in the journal Icarus.
David Horvath, the lead author of the study and a planetary scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona in US, told Space.Com that this is the “youngest documented volcanic eruption on Mars.”
The researchers used data from satellites orbiting Mars. They analyzed relatively featureless equatorial plains of a region known as Elysium Planitia. They also discovered a previously unknown smooth dark volcanic deposit about 8 miles (13 kilometers) wide.The deposit has resemblance features similar to the older volcanic eruptions occurring on the moon and Mercury. According to scientists, the newly discovered volcanic deposit may be the most recent seen yet on Mars. The newly found volcanic deposit is located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from NASA's InSight lander which has investigated tectonic activity on Mars since 2018.
The eruption occurred only 6 miles (10 km) from the youngest large impact crater on Mars — a meteor crater 6 miles (10 km) wide named Zunil.
According to study’s finding, there is a possibility that the warmth from the recent volcanic activity on Mars could have made the Red Planet more habitable. The ice could have been melted by the magma rising from deep underground thus the process could have provided favorable conditions for microbial life fairly recently.
"This does not necessarily confirm past life on Mars, but does imply an environment conducive to habitability," Horvath said.
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