NASA’s Curiosity rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars, revealing that the planet lost its habitable climate due to a slow carbon cycle. The rover found evidence of a long-lost carbon cycle and life-friendly climate in ancient rocks.
A NASA Rover’s Groundbreaking Discovery on Mars
The Search for Carbon on the Red Planet
NASA’s Curiosity rover has made a significant discovery on Mars, shedding light on the planet’s missing carbon. The finding suggests that Mars lost its habitable climate due to a slow carbon cycle.
Mars carbon refers to the presence of carbon-based compounds on Mars, which can be found in various forms such as methane, organic molecules, and carbonate minerals.
NASA's Curiosity rover has detected evidence of past water activity on Mars, suggesting that life may have once existed on the planet.
The discovery of carbon-based compounds on Mars is significant for astrobiological research, providing insights into the Martian environment and potential biosignatures.
According to NASA, methane levels in the Martian atmosphere fluctuate seasonally, indicating possible microbial sources.
The Curiosity rover drilled into different rocks along an 89-meter stretch of terrain on its route up a mountain in an ancient lakebed. The samples from the rocks contained carbon-bearing minerals that hint at a long-lost carbon cycle and life-friendly climate.
Launched in 2011, NASA's Curiosity Rover is a robotic spacecraft designed to explore Mars.
Weighing over 2,000 pounds, the rover landed on Mars' surface in August 2012.
Its primary mission was to search for signs of life on the Red Planet.
Equipped with advanced instruments, including a rock analyzer and a camera, Curiosity has discovered evidence of ancient lakes and rivers on Mars.
The rover's discoveries have significantly expanded our understanding of Martian geology and potential habitability.
Unlocking the Secrets of Mars’ Atmosphere
Geochemist Benjamin Tutolo of the University of Calgary in Canada says, ‘All that carbon dioxide must have gone somewhere.‘ The most likely place is locked up in carbonate minerals, which contain carbon and oxygen. However, despite decades of observations, planetary scientists hadn’t found enough carbonate to explain the planet’s dramatic drying.
The Curiosity rover has now found a carbonate mineral called siderite on a mountain in the ancient lakebed in the Gale crater. ‘We found it here, for the first time, ‘ says Tutolo. ‘That really is the crux of what’s exciting here.’ The research team identified siderite within the sulfate-bearing layers, which probably formed as Mars dried out through a combination of water-rock interactions and evaporation.
Siderite is a type of iron carbonate mineral with the chemical formula FeCO3.
It is a common ore of iron and is often found in sedimentary rocks.
Siderite is typically brown or yellowish-brown in color and has a vitreous luster.
It is relatively soft, with a Mohs hardness of 5-6, making it easily scratched by other minerals.
Siderite is an important source of iron ore, particularly in Australia, China, and the United States.
Understanding the Carbon Cycle on Mars
The rocks also contained different amounts of iron oxyhydroxides, which form when siderite dissolves in acidic water. This means some of the carbon would have returned to the atmosphere, creating a carbon cycle. However, in contrast to Earth’s carbon cycle, which has been relatively stable for billions of years, Mars’ surface rocks absorbed far more carbon than they released.
Tutolo notes, ‘CO2 goes down, it doesn’t come back up.‘ This helps us understand why Mars was once habitable and why it became inhabitable. The interpretation of the siderite provides a great explanation for where the missing carbonate is and how the ancient Martian atmosphere could have been thick enough to support liquid water on the surface.
Next Steps in Research
Researchers should look carefully at orbital data to find more correlations between carbonates and other types of rock. As planetary scientist Janice Bishop of the SETI Institute says, ‘Of course, though, the best way to characterize Martian samples in detail is by bringing the cached samples back to Earth.‘
- sciencenews.org | A NASA rover finally found Mars’ missing carbon
