Researchers say they are one step closer to finding out if life ever existed on Mars.
An international team has found “compelling evidence” of multiple mineral-forming events just below the planet’s surface.
“Sulphate minerals exist with different amounts of water in most regions on Mars and allow us to understand how water moved around the planet, which is key to understanding its past habitability,” Dr. Michael Jones, of Queensland University of Technology in Australia, said in a statement.
“However, we don’t yet fully understand how or when these minerals formed,” he added. “Our team found a way to measure the internal crystal structure of these minerals directly in the rock, which had thought to be impossible on the surface of Mars.”
Jones is a co-author of the findings which were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
To find the evidence, the study’s authors used data from NASA’s Perseverance rover. The rover has been exploring the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater since February 2021