For nearly two decades, scientists had been puzzled by some strange and unexpected signals coming from certain areas of Mars, and now they finally have an answer. Researchers from the SETI Institute and NASA combined laboratory experiments with data captured by orbiting spacecraft and identified what may be a completely new mineral hiding inside the ancient rock formations of the Red Planet. The mineral, a type of iron compound called ferric hydroxysulfate, was found in layered deposits near Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyon systems in the entire solar system. Scientists believe it formed billions of years ago when water slowly evaporated and left mineral deposits behind, and those deposits were then transformed by intense heat from volcanic or geothermal activity deep beneath the Martian surface.
To confirm what they were seeing from orbit, the research team recreated the process in the laboratory by heating other iron sulfate minerals to temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius and watching the very same transformation happen step by step right in front of them. The results showed that this particular mineral only forms when a very specific combination of heat, water chemistry, and oxygen all come together at once, which is part of why it has stayed hidden for so long. Because Mars is so extraordinarily dry, minerals that would normally dissolve and disappear on Earth have been perfectly preserved there for billions of years, acting almost like a detailed chemical diary of the planet’s ancient past. Scientists say this discovery is exciting not just because it may represent a mineral that has never been officially recorded before anywhere in the world, but because it strongly suggests that parts of Mars stayed geologically active and possibly even capable of supporting life far more recently than anyone had previously thought.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260309225228.htm
