We were wrong about Mars! New evidence shows that the planet has active volcanoes
A group of astronomers have found evidence that Mars may still be volcanically active today. This would be a new discovery in Astronomy since, for decades, Mars was believed to be inactive.
When we think of traveling to other planets, the first planet that comes to our mind is Mars. Most of this is that the planet is always in evidence in the media and in science fiction films. The SpaceX company often debates about a possible trip to Mars at the end of this decade.
Mars is located in the habitable zone along with the Earth so the existence of liquid water would be possible. This is one of the great reasons that astronomers have always looked at Mars as a possible next stop for humans. The planet is well studied with several probes on the Martian soil obtaining data.
One of the characteristics of interest in planets is the study of volcanic activity. The Earth itself still has volcanic activity today. A long time ago, it was believed that Mars was inactive and only had volcanic activity in the past. A new study indicates that Mars would still have active volcanoes today that define the geology of the planet.
Characteristics of Mars
Mars is the fourth planet in the Solar System and the neighbour of the Earth. It is one of the planets that is visible at night as a reddish dot. Red is due to the presence of iron oxide on its surface. The planet's atmosphere is quite thin and rarefied and the presence of life, in its current state, is unlikely.
The surface of the planet is severely marked indicating that the planet has had volcanic activity in the past.
Some studies even point to the possibility that liquid water rivers have existed at some point. The probes that are on Mars collect and send data frequently to answer some of these questions.
Largest volcano in the Solar System
Mars is home to the largest known volcano in the Solar System called Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus is about three times larger than Mount Everest with its more than 20 kilometres in height. It is also extremely wide with more than 600 kilometres, this means that from the top of it it is impossible to see the base since it is beyond the horizon.
The volcano reached this size because of several eruptions in the past. It is one of the indications that Mars had an active past in this regard. Nowadays, Mount Olympus is considered an inactive but important volcano to study the geological history of the planet.
How to investigate the surface of Mars?
The study of the surface of Mars dates back more than 100 years ago. However, the technology in the past was limited and difficult to explain the marks found on the surface. The quality of the images was so low that in the 1970s they believed that one of the mountains of Mars was a human face. Something that was denied in the following decades.
Today, several probes are on the Martian surface such as the famous Curiosity and Perseverance. These and other missions use high-resolution cameras, probes, radars and instruments to map the surface of Mars. They can also study a little of the interior of the planet.
Earthquakes on the planet
Despite having no evidence of having tectonic plates, Mars still has earthquakes caused by activity inside it. Some are caused by phenomena that happen inside such as contraction of the core or cooling by some internal process.
In 2022, NASA's InSight module detected the largest earthquake ever recorded on Mars. Despite being weak compared to terrestrial parameters, with a scale of 4.7, it is a very high value for Martian parameters and history. This could be evidence that Mars is not as inactive as it seems.
Active volcanoes on Mars?
A recent study investigated evidence that there would be volcanic activity on Mars today. The researchers used data from the interior of the planet obtained by radars and combined it with surface images. When they modelled what they achieved, they realised that there is a significant amount of lava.
They were able to identify about 40 points associated with volcanic activity despite not having observed any directly. According to the group, these could be evidence that Mars is more active than it seems. If confirmed, our idea that Mars is an inactive planet has been wrong for decades.
What are the implications?
If confirmed, this may shed some light on the question that still remains unanswered whether Mars was, at some point in the past, capable of sheltering life. Volcanic activity is an important factor when studying the habitability of a planet. It would even help to compare with the geological history of Venus that has a high activity to this day.
Other characteristics would be the existence of internal thermal springs that would come to the surface through geysers. Some argue that these characteristics could be important for the existence of a primitive life form below the surface.