A new study has uncovered fascinating details about Mars’s volcanic past—and its potential to support life long ago.
The research, published in Science Advances, focuses on Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in 2021.
Scientists have discovered that the crater floor is made up of many types of iron-rich volcanic rocks, offering a clearer picture of the red planet’s ancient history.
Dr. Michael Tice, a scientist at Texas A&M University, is part of the international team behind the discovery.
He explained that by studying the chemical makeup of these rocks, they’re learning how Mars’s surface was shaped over time—and whether life could have once existed there.
“These rocks are giving us a better understanding of Mars’s geology and its potential for life,” Tice said.
Perseverance is the most advanced Mars rover yet. It’s equipped with powerful instruments that collect samples and examine the surface up close.
One of these tools is PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), which uses X-ray technology to study the elements inside the rocks. This gives scientists highly detailed information, similar to what they could get in a lab here on Earth.
According to Tice, the level of detail is unlike anything scientists have had before. “We’re not just looking at images anymore—we’re getting chemical data, mineral details, and microscopic textures,” he said.
“It’s like having a lab on wheels on another planet.”
The team focused their analysis on a region of Jezero Crater called the Máaz formation. They found two main types of volcanic rock. One is dark and rich in iron and magnesium, and contains minerals like pyroxene and plagioclase.
The other is lighter and has a potassium-rich texture, known as trachy-andesite. These rocks suggest that lava once flowed through this area more than once and that the volcanic activity was more complex than previously thought.
To better understand how these rocks formed, the scientists ran computer models that simulate how molten rock cools and changes over time. Their results suggest that the rocks went through a process called fractional crystallization.
This happens when minerals slowly separate from lava as it cools. There’s also evidence that the lava mixed with materials from the Martian crust, changing the rocks even more.
These findings are important because active volcanoes on Earth often create conditions that support life—by releasing heat and useful chemicals. If Mars had active volcanoes for a long time, it might also have created environments where microbial life could survive.
The team hopes to learn even more when the rock samples collected by Perseverance are eventually brought back to Earth. This is the goal of the Mars Sample Return mission, led by NASA and the European Space Agency, which aims to deliver the samples within the next decade.
Tice believes this is just the beginning. “We’re seeing things we never expected,” he said. “With this technology, we’re getting closer than ever to understanding Mars’s past—and whether it once supported life.”
Source: Texas A&M University.
