NASA's Curiosity rover first uncovered the unusual mineral in 2015.
A mysterious Martian mineral that has perplexed scientists since its discovery seven years ago may have been spat out during an unusual volcanic eruption, researchers have revealed. The mineral, which is normally only found on Earth, was likely formed on the Red Planet more than 3 billion years ago.
The discovery of tridymite stunned researchers for two main reasons, lead study author Valerie Payré, a planetary scientist at Northern Arizona University and Rice University, told Live Science in an email. First, Mars' volcanic activity was previously thought to be unsuitable for producing silica-rich minerals like tridymite.
If tridymite-rich ash did fall into Gale crater when it was still a lake, then the eruption likely happened between 3 billion and 3.5 billion years ago, which is when researchers suspect the crater was full of water."The explosive eruption must have happened in that time frame," Payré said. However, recent studies have shown it is possible that Gale crater was still a lake as recently as 1 billion years ago, according to the researchers' statement.
Normally, tridymite forms in extremely high-temperature and silica-rich volcanic environments, which are common on Earth, Payré said. However, previous evidence from Mars suggests that volcanic eruptions on the Red Planet were basaltic, meaning that they had a much-reduced silica content. This is because Mars doesn't have tectonic plates, which are the main source of Earth's silica-rich eruptions, Payré added.
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