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Wet era on early Mars was global

25 June 2010

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Mars Express’ OMEGA sensor has provided the first hints that there may be hydrated silicates beneath the northern plains of Mars, as well as in the southern highlands. This suggests that the early wet phase of Mars was global in extent.

Credits: ESA (C. Carreau)

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Lyot crater is 210km in diameter. The blue lines show the swathes of data taken by the Mars Express OMEGA sensor. The red boxes show the NASA CRISM pointings. The asterisks show the locations where hydrated minerals were detected. The OMEGA swathes were acquired in Dec 2004 (left) and March 2008 (right). The CRISM observations were taken between Jan 2008 and April 2010.

Credits: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/JHU-APL/IAS

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Mars is coloured by its elevation. The blue areas are the lower lying plains of the northern hemisphere. Lyot crater is marked with a box.

Credits: MOLA Science Team, NASA

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Puddles and lakes of water are now thought to have existed across Mars, early in its history. But these bodies of water may only have lasted from tens to hundreds of millions of years. There is no evidence of a northern ocean from the hydrated minerals found by Mars Express.

Credits: ESA (C. Carreau)

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