Research into the dark rocks scattered across Oxia Planum, a future landing site for a Mars rover mission, has brought forward intriguing possibilities in the quest for extraterrestrial life. These rocks, believed to be remnants of ancient volcanic eruptions, could hold vital clues about life on Mars, if it ever existed.
A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets examined these rocks through data gathered from orbiting satellites. The study concludes that the rocks likely originate from volcanic ash emitted billions of years ago, although no volcanoes have been identified at the Oxia Planum site. Emma Harris, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student at the Natural History Museum in London, indicated that the debris possibly traveled significant distances from explosive volcanic activity before settling at the site.
The research suggests that dark rocks at Oxia Planum may have preserved mineral-rich rocks underneath. These minerals are crucial because they are seen as potential indicators of ancient life on Mars. The formation of these surface rocks remains largely unknown; however, researchers have mapped a vast region using the Context Camera from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to uncover more about them.
The dark rocks originally covered the entire site and are now present only in smaller areas. The hypothesis is that ash preservation occurred in low-elevation regions within impact craters where it potentially mixed with groundwater. “Upwelling of groundwater might have filled these craters,” Harris stated. “This interaction, followed by the fall of ash, resulted in some areas where the ash remained cemented, while in other regions it simply blew away.”
The exploration by the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, set to arrive in 2028, is expected to provide deeper insights into this. Although the rover cannot traverse the jagged dark rocks, its design enables it to analyze mineral-rich rocks at the periphery of these deposits.
The mission’s delays were partly due to geopolitical issues, specifically the European Space Agency’s (ESA) decision to sever ties with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This resulted in a missed launch window in 2023. In a collaborative effort in 2024, NASA and ESA resumed partnership to bring this mission to fruition. The rover will have the capability to drill and collect rock samples from up to 6.6 feet deep, and analyze them on board, in a focused attempt to find signs of past life.
During Mars’s middle Noachian and early Hesperian periods, or approximately 4 to 3.7 billion years ago, conditions might have been favorable for life. “If life ever existed on Mars, it would have been from a very long time ago,” Harris noted, emphasizing that Mars’s surface has remained dry and inactive for billions of years. Thus, deeply analyzing ancient rocks will be pivotal in understanding Mars’s historical capacity to support life.
The study of Martian volcanic ash opens new pathways for understanding the Red Planet’s history and potential for harboring life. As researchers await the 2028 mission, the insights garnered from Oxia Planum’s mineral-rich bedrock and preserved ash deposits serve as valuable pieces in unraveling Mars’s enigmatic past.
Source: Space
