NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has detected deposits of glass within impact craters on Mars. Such deposits might provide a delicate window into the possibility of past life on the Red Planet.
NASA’s planetary science Jim Green said that researchers suggested glass deposits were relatively common impact features on Maras. He said that these areas could be target for future exploration. He said that their astronauts would step on Mars by 2030.
One of the craters containing glass, called Hargraves, is near the Nili Fossae trough, a 400-mile-long depression that stretches across the Martian surface. The region is one of the landing site contenders for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover.
Nili Fossae trough is already of scientific interest because the crust in the region is thought to date back to when Mars was a much wetter planet. The region also is rife with what appear to be ancient hydrothermal fractures, warm vents that could have provided energy for life to thrive just beneath the surface.
Impact glass can preserve ancient signs of life. The new development would open up a potential new strategy in the search for ancient Martian life.
