Latest news with #Janice Bishop
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A mysterious substance on Mars might be an undiscovered mineral
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. One way scientists study planets is by looking at the minerals on their surfaces. They can tell us a lot about how worlds form. Scientists have been looking at unusual layers of iron sulfates on Mars, and these layers may represent a whole new mineral. Janice Bishop, a research scientist at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute and NASA Ames Research Center in California's sSilicon Valley, has led a study that dives into these mysterious Martian formations. "We investigated two sulfate-bearing sites near the vast Valles Marineris canyon system that included mysterious spectral bands seen from orbital data, as well as layered sulfates and intriguing geology," Bishop said in a statement. Using data gathered by Mars orbiters, Bishop and her team studied sites with an odd spectral signature — that of an iron-bearing mineral called a ferric hydroxysulfate. Aside from Valles Marineris, they also looked at the plateau above another huge canyon, called Juventae Chasma, and an impact crater known as Aram Chaos. After analyzing the orbiter data, the team hit the lab. They wanted to learn more about the conditions that transform common sulfates into ferric hydroxysulfates — and they got some intriguing results. "Our experiments suggest that this ferric hydroxysulfate only forms when hydrated ferrous sulfates are heated in the presence of oxygen," said Johannes Meusburger, a researcher at NASA Ames who worked on the team. The team even managed to create the mysterious mineral in the lab. "The material formed in these lab experiments is likely a new mineral due to its unique crystal structure and thermal stability," Bishop said. "However, scientists must also find it on Earth to officially recognize it as a new mineral." RELATED STORIES — Mars: Everything you need to know about the Red Planet — What happened to all the water on Mars? Here's why the debate continues — Life on Mars: Exploration and evidence This mineral, and how it formed, could give us clues on the way that heat, water, and chemical reactions mold the surface of Mars. "The findings suggest parts of Mars have been chemically and thermally active more recently than scientists once believed — offering new insight into the planet's dynamic surface and its potential to have supported life," SETI representatives wrote in the statement. The paper about the Martian mineral was published in the journal Nature Communications on Aug. 5.
Gizmodo
07-08-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Scientists Think They Have Found a Brand-New Mineral on Mars
Scientists have a fairly good idea of what Mars' surface looks like. But exactly what that surface is made up of is more of a mystery. Now, scientists believe they have discovered an entirely new mineral on Mars from an unusual layer of iron sulfate with a distinct spectral signature. In a Nature Communications paper published on August 5, astrobiologists led by Janice Bishop at the SETI Institute describe the discovery of an unusual ferric hydroxysulfate compound around Valles Marineris, a vast chasm that sits along Mars' equator. It's an area that researchers suspect once flowed with water, and the new mineral's discovery could offer tantalizing clues as to how and what natural forces sculpted the planet's surface—and whether life once thrived on Mars. Sulfur, an element common to both Mars and Earth, often combines with other elements to form minerals in the form of sulfates. These minerals dissolve easily in water, but unlike Earth, Mars has persistently dry weather, meaning that sulfates may have remained on the surface since the planet lost its water. Studying these minerals, therefore, would uncover important information about Mars' early history. The researchers investigated sulfate-rich areas near Valles Marineris, paying special attention to regions that 'included mysterious spectral bands seen from orbital data, as well as layered sulfates and intriguing geology,' explained Bishop in a statement. In one area, they found layered deposits of polyhydrated sulfates, with monohydrated and ferric hydroxysulfates underneath. They tried to recreate these in the lab, finding that the ferric hydroxysulfate seen on Mars could only have formed in the presence of oxygen and that the reaction needed to produce the compound produces water. Further, this could only have happened at high temperatures, the researchers said, suggesting the sulfates formed from volcanic activity. What's more, its structure and thermal properties suggest it is a totally new mineral. 'The material formed in these lab experiments is likely a new mineral due to its unique crystal structure and thermal stability,' Bishop said. 'However, scientists must also find it on Earth to officially recognize it as a new mineral.'
