The crust that encases rocky planets and makes possible the emergence of life took shape on Mars earlier than thought and at least 100 million years sooner than on Earth, researchers said on Wednesday.
Analyzing grains of the mineral zircon extracted from a Martian meteorite known as “Black Beauty,” they determined that Mars’ outer layer hardened 4.547 billion years ago, only 20 million years after the birth of the sun.
“Mars’ primary crust formation — which is the end product of planet formation — happened much faster than previously thought,” said Martin Bizzarro, a scientist at Denmark’s Centre for Star and Planet Formation and senior author of a study published in Nature. “Our results indicate that Mars could have had an environment with oceans, and potentially life, much earlier than Earth.”
Water is considered to be an essential precursor for life, at least as we know it.
Mars was once much more Earth-like, with a thick atmosphere, abundant water and global oceans.
Up to now, mathematical models have suggested that the solidification of Mars took up to 100 million years.
The new study tackles the question by examining a chunk of Mars that streaked into the Saharan Desert and was discovered in 2011.
The meteorite weighed 320g when found. The researchers secured 44g of the precious space rock and crushed 5g — enough to extract seven bits of zircon that could be used in experiments.
By measuring the lead decaying from uranium that had been trapped in zircon as the young Mars’ molten magma hardened, the scientists were able to precisely date the crust from which the zircon formed.
“I’m glad we chose that strategy,” Bizzarro said. “Zircon is like a time capsule.”
There are two main models for the formation of planets.
In one, it occurs in stages, with small dust particles coalescing into “planetesimals” — rock fragments 10km to 100km in diameter — that collide to form planetary embryos, and then planets, over a time scale of 50 to 100 million years.
According to a more recent model, planetary growth unfolds more quickly and is fueled by so-called “pebble accretion,” the layered accumulation of particles measured in centimeters and meters that are loosely bound with gases.
“Our data supports newer models indicating the very rapid formation of terrestrial planets,” the authors said.
The new time line suggests that something similar might have happened on our planet, but only after Earth was “reset” by the giant impact that formed the moon about 4.4 billion years ago, Bizzarro said.
Mars is thought to have a dense metallic core with a radius of about 1,800km, consisting primarily of iron, nickel and sulfur.
The core is surrounded by a largely dormant mantle — about 1,500km thick — made mainly of silicon, oxygen, iron and magnesium.
Finally, the crust averages about 50km in depth, with a maximum of about 125km.
Earth’s crust averages 40km, but is one-third the thickness of the Martian crust once planet size is taken into account.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
Czech intelligence chief Michal Koudelka has spent decades uncovering Russian spy networks, sabotage attempts and disinformation campaigns against Europe. Speaking in an interview from a high-security compound on the outskirts of Prague, he is now warning allies that pushing Kyiv to accept significant concessions to end the war in Ukraine would only embolden the Kremlin. “Russia would spend perhaps the next 10 to 15 years recovering from its huge human and economic losses and preparing for the next target, which is central and eastern Europe,” said Koudelka, a major general who heads the country’s Security Information Service. “If Ukraine loses, or is forced
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
RSS