This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic hydrogen-rich regions inside a Martian meteorite.
The findings provide evidence for early water-rock interactions on Mars. The Red Planet was not always the dusty desert we see today. Mars once held water: Data from orbiters and rover measurements suggest that liquid water even flowed on its surface—and that today it persists mainly as chemically bound hydrogen locked into minerals in the rock.
However, our understanding of how old these hydrogen-bearing minerals are, where they occur and in what concentrations is still incomplete. Yet such details are crucial to better understanding the early environment of Mars—and the extent to which it may have been habitable at that time. In an interdisciplinary collaboration, a research team from Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland has been investigating water on Mars—not on Mars itself, but in a piece of Martian rock that was flung to Earth many millions of years ago: NWA 7034—better known as "Black Beauty." Although this Martian meteorite does not contain liquid water, when water reacts with rock, it leaves behind chemical traces—such as altered iron compounds or hydrated minerals.
It was precisely these traces that the researchers wanted to reveal inside the sample. To achieve this, the team combined two complementary imaging techniques: neutron and X-ray tomography. The neutron measurements were carried out at the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ at PSI.
"Neutrons are particularly sensitive to hydrogen," explains PSI scientist David Mannes, who performed the neutron tomography at PSI together with Anders Kaestner. "In combination with X-ray tomography, we were not only able to detect tiny hydrated minerals, but also, for the first time, visualize larger, macroscopic hydrogen deposits." The hydrogen-rich signatures are found in very old Martian rock and occur in clearly definable, macroscopic areas. This suggests that water reacted with the still-young Martian crust at an early stage.
The researchers have reported their findings in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. "Black Beauty"—a piece of the Red Planet—was once hurled into space by a meteorite impact on Mars and, after a long journey, finally landed in the Moroccan Sahara. The rock fragment, weighing around 320 grams (11 ounces), contains material that is up to 4.48 billion years old, making it one of the oldest known fragments of the Martian crust.
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