Mars is still full of surprises (Picture: Getty/Science Photo Libra)
A giant, potentially active volcano taller than Everest has been discovered on Mars after decades of ‘hiding in plain sight’ – and could be an ideal place for life to form.
Scientists found the volcano, temporarily dubbed the ‘Noctis’, in the eastern part of Mars’s Tharis province near the planet’s equator.
It is 280 miles wide, which is around the distance from London to Newcastle, and more than 9,000 metres high – which makes it a few hundred metres taller than Mount Everest.
The volcano has been seen repeatedly by Nasa’s orbiting spacecraft since 1971, but had been overlooked because it was deeply eroded and therefore beyond simple recognition.
The team of scientists say the volcano’s size and ‘complex modification history’ indicate that it has been active for a very long time.
They also believe a possible sheet of glacier ice may be buried beneath the volcano – which could offer brand new information about Mars’s evolution through time.
The giant volcano is near the planet’s equator (Picture: SWNS)
Lead author Dr Pascal Lee, planetary scientist with the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute, said: ‘We were examining the geology of an area where we had previously found the remains of a glacier when we realised we were inside a huge and deeply eroded volcano.
‘In its southeastern part lies a thin, recent, volcanic deposit, beneath which glacier ice is likely still present.
‘The combined giant volcano and possible glacier ice discovery is significant, as it points to an exciting new location to study Mars’ geologic evolution through time, search for life, and explore with robots and humans in the future.’
Co-author Sourabh Shubham added that the team had identified the volcano in the east of Mars’s Noctis Labyrinthus while studying potential glacier remains nearby.
The volcano has been heavily eroded, making it harder to spot (Picture: SWNS)
The team’s analysis revealed that the volcano had been through a lengthy and ‘complex’ period of change over the years – likely from a combination of fracturing, thermal erosion, and glacial erosion.
Some of this was prompted by the accumulation of ice from repeated build-ups of snow, which caused lava to rise through different parts of the volcano.
This then resulted in the erosion and subsequent collapse of entire sections of the volcano.
Scientists also found evidence of lava flows, hydrated mineral deposits, and pyroclastic deposits – such as ash, cinders, and pumice – in several areas within the volcano’s perimeter.
However, much about the newly discovered volcano remains a mystery, the team admitted.
‘Although it is clear that the volcano has been active for a long time and began to build up early in Mars’s history, it is unknown how early exactly,’ said Mr Shubham.
‘Similarly, although it has experienced eruptions even in modern times, it is unknown if it is still volcanically active and might erupt again.
Glacier ice nearby means the region is a prime spot for life to form (Picture: SWNS)
‘And if it has been active for a very long time, could the combination of sustained warmth and water from ice have allowed the site to harbour life?’
But Dr Lee insisted that the discovery made still offers plenty of excitement in terms of further exploration of Mars – explaining that the indications of heat interacting with ice make this spot on the planet ‘a prime location for our search for signs of life’.
‘It’s really a combination of things that makes the Noctis volcano site exceptionally exciting,’ he said.
‘It’s an ancient and long-lived volcano so deeply eroded that you could hike, drive or fly through it to examine, sample, and date different parts of its interior to study Mars’ evolution through time.
‘It has also had a long history of heat interacting with water and ice, which makes it a prime location for astrobiology and our search for signs of life.
‘Finally, with glacier ice likely still preserved near the surface in a relatively warm equatorial region on Mars, it may be possible for us to extract water for hydration and for manufacturing rocket fuel.
‘This place is therefore looking very attractive for robotic and human exploration.’
The groundbreaking discovery, conducted using data from Nasa’s Mariner 9, Viking Orbiter 1 and 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, was unveiled at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Although huge, the volcano is nowhere near the size of Olympus Mons, also on Mars, which stands nearly 22km tall, two and a half times the height of Everest.