The colorful landscape of Mars, covered with craters, canyons, and strange formations, hides a complex geological history. But scientists consider the recent discovery to be a real sensation that could change our understanding of the Red Planet’s past.
Jezero Mons, towering above the Jezero crater where NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently located, may actually be an ancient volcano. This discovery, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, provides new insights into the geological evolution of Mars and even into the search for traces of ancient life.
Professor James Wray of Georgia Tech, one of the leaders of the study, was the first to suggest the volcanic origin of the mountain back in 2007, when he examined the first blurry images of the area. “It looked like a volcano, but it was difficult to obtain evidence at that time,” recalls the scientist. Back then, everyone was focused on the crater, which they thought was the bottom of an ancient lake.
The breakthrough came after the arrival of the Perseverance rover in 2021. To the great surprise of scientists, the rover discovered that the crater floor was not composed of lake sediments, as expected, but of volcanic rock. This reinforced Wray’s suspicions: could this breed originate from Jezero Mons?
Evidence in favor of the volcano
To solve this mystery, Wray and his colleague, Brown University graduate student Sara C. Cuevas-Quiñones, conducted a large-scale study. They combined data from three orbiters — Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter — as well as the Perseverance rover. Several lines of evidence were found to support the volcano hypothesis.
The size and shape of Jezero Mons are very similar to other Martian volcanoes, such as Zephyria and Apollinarus Tholi, and even Earth’s Mount Sidley in Antarctica. The surface of the mountain turned out to be surprisingly “clean” — there are almost no impact craters on it, which is atypical for ancient Martian structures. This may indicate a younger age or that the surface was recently (by geological standards) covered with volcanic ash. The fact that the mountain does not retain heat well is another sign of possible ash cover. On the northwestern slopes, scientists also noticed structures very similar to the solidified edges of ancient lava flows. It is important to note that these structures appear to descend all the way to the bottom of the Jezero crater. All this evidence explains why Perseverance found volcanic rock there.
The discovery also suggests that volcanic activity on Mars may have been much more widespread than previously thought.
Hypothesis about life on Mars
The presence of a volcano near the ancient lake in the Jezero crater opens up an exciting prospect. Such proximity could have led to hydrothermal activity — the formation of hot springs or geysers at the bottom of the lake. On Earth, such environments are true oases of life, rich in microorganisms. Consequently, Jezero Mons may indicate that ideal conditions for the emergence and maintenance of life existed there in the past.
The most important evidence is still stored on Mars, awaiting transport to collect the valuable rock samples stored in capsules as part of the Mars Sample Return mission. If the samples are successfully delivered to Earth, scientists will be able to conduct radioisotope dating. This will help us determine the exact age of the rocks, and therefore the age of the Jezero crater, bringing us closer to solving the geological mystery of Mars.
Earlier, we reported on how quartz crystals were found on Mars, which could be evidence of life on the planet.
According to phys.org
