Aaron J. Cavosie has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council, the US National Science Foundation and NASA. Water is ubiquit

A 4.45 billion-year -old crystal from Mars reveals the planet had water from the beginning

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2024-11-23 15:00:04

Aaron J. Cavosie has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council, the US National Science Foundation and NASA.

Water is ubiquitous on Earth – about 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by the stuff. Water is in the air, on the surface and inside rocks. Geologic evidence suggests water has been stable on Earth since about 4.3 billion years ago.

The history of water on early Mars is less certain. Determining when water first appeared, where and for how long, are all burning questions that drive Mars exploration. If Mars was once habitable, some amount of water was required.

We studied the mineral zircon in a meteorite from Mars and found evidence that water was present when the zircon crystal formed 4.45 billion years ago. Our results, published in the journal Science Advances today, may represent the oldest evidence for water on Mars.

Water has long been recognised to have played an important role in early Martian history. To place our results in a broader context, let’s first consider what “early Mars” means in terms of the Martian geological timescale, and then consider the different ways to look for water on Mars.