Scientists have found water from Mars in a meteorite found in the Sahara Desert. Scientists estimate its age is about 4.4 billion years, according to a publication in the journal Science Advances.
The mineral composition of the meteorite NWA 7533, which was discovered in 2012, showed signs of chemical oxidation that could have occurred during the formation of water.
The fact that water on the Red Planet has existed for at least 3.7 billion years was previously known to science, but thanks to this discovery, researchers came to the conclusion that water on the planet was another 700 thousand years earlier than the established date.
“This oxidation could have happened if water was present on or on the Martian surface 4.4 billion years ago during an impact that melted part of the planet’s crust,” said Professor Takashi Mikuchi of the University of Tokyo.
On October 28, scientist Anatoly Petrukovich said that primitive traces of current or former life can be found in the atmosphere of Venus, the glaciers of Mars or the subglacial oceans of the satellites of the gas giants.
According to the expert, for the development of such a life, a stable place with a suitable temperature, water, and a thermal or chemical source of energy is sufficient.