Scientists find water-modified volcanic rocks on Mars

Planet Mars has been or great curiosity to humankind for centuries. The red planet not only makes for a unique sight in the night sky, but also is subject of immense facination with respect to posible alien life. Type 'martians' and you would get thousands of hits on Google.

Now, scientists have gota fascinating proof of rocks having been altered due to water on the martian surface.

NASA's Perseverance rover has found these rocks in Jezero Crater on Mars. Jezero Crater is where scientists think there was a lake millions of years ago.

Researchers who studied these Igneous rocks have published their findings in the scientific journal Science and Science Advances.

The scientists had expected to find sedimentary rocks in the Jezero Crater as it is the chief type of rocks found as a result of solidification of sediments brought in by the water.

“Before landing, there was quite a debate whether the crater floor was igneous or sedimentary,” Roger Wiens from the Los Alamos National Laboratory told Down To Earth. Wiens studied Mars’s under-surface features.

“The Perseverance rover collected rock samples, representing diverse rock types present on the crater floor,” said Amy Williams, assistant professor of geology at the University of Florida. She was quoted by Down To Earth.

The volcanic rocks showed presence of carbonates, which is a proof that they had interaction with carbon dioxide-rich water in the past.

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