Scientists studying Mars say fresh fissures in the surface near the volcano Alba Mons, together with a gas tied to magma, may point to volcanic activity that is still under way on the planet. If confirmed, such heat could make the search for life more promising, because a steady underground warmth might give microbes a refuge from the planet's frigid surface.
The gas in question is hydrogen chloride, first detected in the Martian atmosphere in 2019 by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Only 15 recorded instances of the gas are available for analysis, a small sample that leaves considerable room for doubt. The research team, led by Daniel Mège of the Polish Academy of Sciences, modeled wind patterns to connect the gas readings with the narrow cracks visible in surface photographs. The turbulent dust-devil season on Mars complicates that link, because the same winds that carry the gas can also scatter it before it is traced back to a source.
The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, remain provisional. The team has not yet established where the gas actually comes from, and that question can only be settled by collecting samples directly from the surface. Nicolas Thomas of the University of Bern has urged that the area be investigated up close. Lena Noack of the Free University of Berlin, who was not part of the study, described the result as highly interesting.
For planetary scientists, the appeal of an active volcanic region lies in what it could mean for habitability. Volcanism supplies heat and chemical energy, conditions that on Earth have sustained life in hidden or extreme places. Confirming such activity on Mars would give future missions a concrete target, and the open questions about the gas and fissures are the kind that a landed mission would be designed to answer.
Credit. Based on reporting by Matthew Sparkes for New Scientist. Is this your work? Write to us.
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