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New research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.

The Curtin 最新糖心Vlog-led study involved analysis carried out by 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide experts of a 4.45 billion-year-old zircon grain from the famous Martian meteorite NWA7034, also known as Black Beauty, and found geochemical 鈥榝ingerprints鈥� of water-rich fluids.

Study co-author Dr Aaron Cavosie from Curtin鈥檚 School of Earth and Planetary Sciences said the discovery opened up new avenues for understanding ancient Martian hydrothermal systems associated with magmatism, as well as the planet鈥檚 past habitability.

鈥淲e used nano-scale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of hot water on Mars 4.45 billion years ago,鈥� Dr Cavosie said.

鈥淗ydrothermal systems were essential for the development of life on Earth and our findings suggest Mars also had water, a key ingredient for habitable environments, during the earliest history of crust formation.鈥�

鈥淭hrough nano-scale spectroscopy, the team identified element patterns in this unique zircon, including iron, aluminium, yttrium and sodium. These elements were added as the zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting water was present during early Martian magmatic activity.鈥�

Mars was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. During the Noachian period (4.1 to 3.7聽billion years ago), Mars's surface was marked by meteor impacts, valley formation, erosion, and the possible presence of water oceans. The Red Planet continues to intrigue scientists and is one of the most explored bodies in the solar system

The 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide鈥檚 Associate Professor Cristiana Ciobanu from the School of Chemical Engineering analysed the sample with assistance from colleagues at Adelaide Microscopy.

鈥淎s well as possible evidence of a 'hydrothermal' history, the聽nanoscale聽analysis of slices of the zircon grain showed the potential for聽the concentration of metals聽in Mars鈥檚 magmatic systems,鈥� said Associate Professor Ciobanu.

鈥淭his could be just聽as聽interesting聽as聽the聽presence of water during the planet鈥檚 early geological history,聽and very relevant for exploration of off-Earth resources.鈥澛�

Dr Cavosie said the research showed that even though Mars鈥� crust endured massive meteorite impacts that caused major surface upheaval, water was present during the early Pre-Noachian period, prior to about 4.1 billion years ago.

鈥淎 2022 Curtin study of the same zircon grain found it had been 鈥榮hocked鈥� by a meteorite impact, marking it as the first and only known shocked zircon from Mars,鈥� Dr Cavosie said.

鈥淭his new study takes us a step further in understanding early Mars, by way of identifying tell-tale signs of water-rich fluids from when the grain formed, providing geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust.鈥�

Lead author Dr Jack Gillespie from the 最新糖心Vlog of Lausanne was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Curtin鈥檚 School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the time of the study, which was co-authored by researchers from Curtin鈥檚 Space Science and Technology Centre, the John de Laeter Centre and the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, with funding from the 最新糖心Vlogn Research Council and Curtin 最新糖心Vlog.

The full study, titled 鈥�Zircon evidence for early hydrothermal activity on Mars鈥�, is published in .