Meteors can prove water exists on Mars

Small iron-containing meteorites with fists that self-propelled probes found on Mars could help scientists prove that red planets exist.

One of the six stones that Opportunity probe found near Victoria crater on Mars.Photo: Newscientist.

Previously, America's Spirit and Opportunity probe detected three iron-containing meteorites on Mars. They stand out more prominently on the dusty surface of the red planet thanks to glittering gold. The new Opportunity vessel discovered 6 more small stones with fists at Victoria crater. Equipment on board (including a spectrum analyzer) detects that they have iron-containing minerals. These minerals are also found in meteorites on earth.

'These stones are exactly the same stones that we found on the Antarctic meteorites,' said James Ashley, a researcher at the University of Arizona.

Some scientists from Johannes Gutenberg University (Germany) argue that the stones on Mars may be the fragments of a giant meteorite that created Victoria's crater. In addition, there is another possibility: They are the remains of a meteor shower from the universe.

Because Victoria crater is 800 meters in diameter, experts believe that meteorites should make it 25-40 meters in diameter. The composition of the stones that the Opportunity vessel discovered shows that the meteorite is a rare stone. According to Ashley, they only account for less than 1% of the number of meteorites falling on the globe.

Because 6 stones contain iron, scientists can estimate the amount of water they have been exposed to since falling to the red planet millions or billions of years ago. 'Imagine you see an old car and rust in the desert. It will tell you something about the amount of water there , 'Ashley explained.

Until now people have not discovered any trace of rust. But perhaps scientists can find rust when they are brought to earth for analysis. If that happens then we can conclude that Mars has water.