Scientists believe a mysterious black rock found on Mars could indicate that aliens bathed in hot springs on the planet billions of years ago.
New research appears to have uncovered evidence that water existed on the Red Planet more than four billion years ago, suggesting it could once have been habitable.
The academics from Curtin University in Australia examined a sample of the meteorite previously called the ‘black beauty’.
Their latest analysis looked at a grain from the rock of black crystal, also known as zicron, to determine that the planet may have been hospitable long ago.
They found that the sample dates all the way back to 4.45 billion years ago – a similar time to when our own planet is thought to have formed.
What really caught the scientists’ attention, however, were the “fingerprints” found on the grain’s water, seemingly indicating the existence of hot water on Mars.
This is believed to have existed in the form of hydrothermal vents heated by magma from beneath the Earth’s crust.
According to experts, similar hot springs played a key role in the development of life here on Earth.
Scientists believe a mysterious black rock found on Mars could indicate aliens bathed in a hot spring on the planet more than four billion years ago
New research appears to have uncovered evidence that water existed on the Red Planet more than four billion years ago, indicating it could once have been habitable (Image: A meteorite dubbed the ‘Black Beauty’)
Such sources suggest that the Red Planet may have once had the capacity to support ancient life.
Dr. Aaron Cavosie, co-author of the study, shared The sun they used nanoscale geochemistry to uncover evidence of hot water on Mars so long ago.
“Hydrothermal systems were essential for the development of life on Earth and our findings suggest that Mars also had water, a key ingredient for a habitable environment, during its earliest history of crust formation,” he told the publication.
‘Using nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the team identified elemental patterns in this unique zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium and sodium.
‘These elements were added when the zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, indicating that water was present during Mars’ early magmatic activity.
‘This new study takes us a step further in understanding early Mars by identifying telltale signs of water-rich fluids from the time the grain formed, providing geochemical markers of water in Mars’ oldest known crust.’
It comes after NASA’s Mars rover discovered the first ‘possible’ signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.
The agency’s Perseverance rover spotted what they described as an arrowhead-shaped rock with what appeared to be veins running through it.
The rover beamed the images back to Earth, revealing crystalline solids left over from the water flowing on the surface, and a reddish region containing organic compounds and an energy source for “what could have been microbial life.”
The rock, which measures 3.2 feet by 2 feet, is named after a Grand Canyon waterfall Cheyava Falls.