A team of scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder (USA) has discovered evidence of what could be the last potentially habitable waters on the surface of Mars . The study has been published in the journal Geology .
Mars has been arid and icy for quite some time, however, there was a time when rivers and lakes populated our neighboring planet and scientists have discovered clues to an old lake in which they believe microbial life may have existed .
To reach this conclusion, the researchers examined a 29-square-kilometer chloride salt deposit in a region near the planet’s meridian, near the landing site of the Opportunity Mars rover in January 2004. This site has many similarities to salt flats. of the Earth , large-scale salt deposits considered as evidence of bodies of evaporated water.
Mineral analysis and digital mapping of the area have revealed that the lake bed in question is about 3.6 billion years old and only 8% saltier than Earth’s oceans , opening up the possibility that it may have harbored life. microbial: “This was a long-lived lake, and we were able to put a good time limit on its maximum age. We can be pretty sure that this is one of the last examples of a large lake on Mars, ”explains Brian Hynek, study leader.
