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There's Evidence Volcanoes Are Active on Mars, Raising Chances of Recent Habitability
(ESA & MPS for OSIRIS Team)
MICHELLE STARR7 MAY 2021
Evidence seems to be mounting for a geologically and volcanically active Mars.
A new, close study of volcanic features on the surface of the red planet has found that a lava deposit on the Elysium Planitia appears to be very recent indeed - as in, within the last 50,000 years.
On geological timescales, that's shockingly short. And it could mean that Mars was potentially habitable just as recently, with parts of it similar to regions of volcanic activity in glacial areas such as Iceland, where various forms of extremophile bacteria thrive.
"This may be the youngest volcanic deposit yet documented on Mars. If we were to compress Mars geologic history into a single day, this would have occurred in the very last second," said astronomer David Horvath of the Planetary Science Institute and the University of Arizona.
More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/volcanoes-on-mars-could-be-active-raising-the-chances-of-recent-habitability