Astronomers Find Hidden Volcano on Mars

Gizmodo

a day ago

Mars's marred surface consists of craters, canyons, and mysterious formations that hint at a complex geological past. Scientists recently studied a tantalizing feature that could shed light on the planet's elusive history.
A mountain perched on the rim of Mars' Jezero Crater may actually be a volcano hiding in plain sight, according to a new study. This peak, called Jezero Mons, could offer new insight into the Red Planet's geologic history and the potential for ancient Martian life, the researchers say.
The findings, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment in May, validate long-held suspicions that Jezero Mons is volcanic. Using data from three Mars orbiters and NASA's Perseverance rover, researchers found striking similarities between this mountain and explosive volcanoes previously identified on Mars and Earth.
'Jezero Crater is one of the best studied sites on Mars. If we are just now identifying a volcano here, imagine how many more could be on Mars,' said corresponding author James Wray, a professor of astrogeology and remote sensing at Georgia Tech, in a university statement. 'Volcanoes may be even more widespread across Mars than we thought.'
Wray has had a hunch that Jezero Mons is a volcano ever since he first laid eyes on it in 2007. 'I was looking at low-resolution photos of the area and noticed a mountain on the crater's rim,' he recalled in the statement. 'To me, it looked like a volcano, but it was difficult to get additional images.' At the time, scientists had only recently discovered the Jezero crater. Once scientists determined that it was likely an ancient lake bed, imaging efforts focused on its water history on the side opposite Jezero Mons.
Then, shortly after NASA's Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater in 2021, there was a break in the case. This rover gathers samples from the Martian surface to aid the search for past life, investigate the planet's climate and geology, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. Before long, data from Perseverance showed that the crater's floor was not sedimentary, as one would expect from a previously-flooded area. It was actually made of volcanic rock.
Wray wondered if this igneous rock could have come from Jezero Mons. He teamed up with lead author Sara Cuevas-Quiñones—a graduate student at Brown University who was working with Wray as part of a summer undergraduate research program at the time—to try to answer this question.
Wray, Cuevas-Quiñones, and their colleagues used a combination of data from the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and the Perseverance rover to 'puzzle this out,' Wray said. This wealth of data allowed the researchers to gain a deeper understanding of Jezero Mons' characteristics and compare it to other known volcanoes.
They found that the size and shape of this peak is similar to Martian volcanoes such as Zephyria and Apollinarus Tholi, as well as Mount Sidley in Antarctica. What's more, the researchers determined that the surface of Jezero Mons lacks impact craters and does not retain heat well—two signs that it may be covered in volcanic ash. Parts of the peak's northwestern flank also resembled edges of past lava flows that appear to reach the crater floor, which could explain why Perseverance found igneous rock there.
While this doesn't definitively prove that Jezero Mons is a volcano, it's some of the strongest evidence experts have so far. The findings mark an intriguing development in the search for life in Jezero Crater. A volcano located so close to this ancient lake might have generated hydrothermal activity—a source of energy that could have sustained past life.
Now, the researchers await the return of Perseverance's samples. Radioisotope dating can determine the precise age of the igneous rocks this rover collected, which could then be used to more accurately estimate Jezero Crater's age, according to the researchers. This would offer valuable insights into the geological history of the Red Planet.
Currently, NASA and its international partners have no solid plan to get this collection of rocks and dust back to Earth, but the agency is reviewing two Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission strategies with a goal of confirming the program in 2026. President Donald Trump's 2026 budget proposal, however, threatens to derail this program. If passed by Congress, the budget would terminate the MSR mission on the grounds that it is 'grossly over budget' and its goals can be achieved by human missions to Mars.
Wray is hopeful that he will get his hands on Perseverance's finds one way or another. 'If these samples are returned to Earth, we can do incredible, groundbreaking science with them,' he said.