Research indicates that Mars contains much less minerals than Earth
× Close
This panorama was combined from two images of the “Marker Band Valley” of Gale Crater on Mars taken by the Curiosity rover on April 8, 2023, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon local time. The original photos were taken in black and white and then colourised, with the right pane (under blue sky) representing the morning scene and the left pane (under yellow sky) the afternoon. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Nearly 6,000 different minerals are known to exist on Earth, but after more than 50 years of research, only 161 have been recorded on Mars, an exponentially lower number for a planet that shares so much in common with our own.
According to a new study, the difference arose because minerals on Mars have fewer formation pathways than those on Earth, even though both planets started out on very similar mineral evolution pathways.
Following their search to catalog the composition and evolution of minerals on Earth, Hazen and his colleagues conducted a systematic study of all 161 Martian minerals that had been uncovered over the past half-century through Mars missions and analyzes of Martian meteorites.
While previous work identified 57 primary and secondary mechanisms for mineral formation on Earth, the new study identified only 20 patterns of mineral formation on Mars.
Early in planetary history, minerals on Earth and Mars formed in similar ways. For example, it is likely that the first minerals on both planets crystallized directly from the cooling magma.
It is likely that hydrothermal activity also gave rise to many new minerals on each planet. However, the range of minerals found on Earth went through large-scale stages of diversification billions of years ago with the onset of plate tectonics and the spread of life, processes not known to have occurred on Mars.
Although there are undoubtedly many mineral phases on and below Mars that have not yet been observed, the researchers note that the total number of Martian minerals is still likely an order of magnitude smaller than that of Earth’s.
Their study is published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
more information:
Robert M. Hazen et al., On the diversity and formation of Martian minerals, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2023). doi: 10.1029/2023JE007865
Journal information:
Journal of Geophysical Research
This story is republished with permission from Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
