Evidence of active volcanoes on Mars may boost chances of finding life — SkimNews
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- ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter detected hydrogen chloride (HCl) in Mars’s atmosphere in 2019, a gas commonly associated with magmatic vents on Earth.
- Daniel Mège and colleagues compared 15 recorded HCl instances with newly taken surface photographs, linking recent, narrow fissures in the Alba Mons region to the emissions and providing strong evidence of underground lava flow.
- Daniel Mège said the team modeled wind direction at measurement time to assess whether the fissures were the HCl source, noting 2 kilometres of wind between the sites and a turbulent season with many dust devils.
- Nicolas Thomas said the finding falls short of unambiguous proof until the site is investigated up close and gas emerging from the ground can be sampled directly, and argued it strengthens the case for further surface exploration.
- Mars shows evidence of volcanism from the past few million years, and seismic activity has hinted that some volcanoes may still be active; before this study, scientists had found no evidence of lava flows or current eruptions.
- Nicolas Thomas said a constant, continuous thermal source would improve the search for microorganisms because even equatorial Mars can reach −70°C, and −80°C at night.
- Lena Noack called the finding highly interesting, said many Mars scientists would not be surprised, and noted that a “dead” Mars picture conflicts with many recent research findings.
Why it matters: For Mars researchers, Nicolas Thomas argues that the 15 HCl readings linked to Alba Mons fissures strengthen the case for further surface exploration because direct sampling is required for unambiguous proof. For life hunters, the attraction is a possible continuous heat source where nighttime temperatures reach −80°C, conditions he says would improve the search for microorganisms.
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