As of: March 15, 2024, 10:31 a.m
By: Tanja Banner
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Mars reveals another secret: a gigantic volcano.
Its discovery could be significant in the search for life.
The Woodlands – Mars is home to the highest volcano and mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons (21.3 km elevation).
The largest volcano in the solar system, Alba Patera (diameter 1200 km), can also be found there.
And the red planet holds even more secrets.
A research team has now discovered another gigantic volcano.
This newly discovered volcano, tentatively named Noctis Volcano, is located in the east of the Tharsis region, near the Martian equator.
With a height of 9,022 meters and a diameter of 450 kilometers, it even exceeds Mount Everest.
Surprisingly, the volcano is located in a region that is regularly photographed from Mars orbit, as it is close to the huge Valles Marineris rift system and its offshoot, Noctis Labyrinthus.
Nevertheless, the volcano remained undiscovered for a long time.
The newly discovered volcano is located on Mars' equator, east of Noctis Labyrinthus and west of Valles Marineris.
© Background image: NASA/USGS Mars globe.
Geologic interpretation and annotations by Pascal Lee and Sourabh Shubham 2024
Giant Martian volcano was overlooked for many decades
Pascal Lee of the SETI Institute, lead author of a study on the volcano, explains: “We were studying the geology of an area where we had found the remains of a glacier last year when we realized we were inside a huge and deeply eroded volcano “.
Sourabh Shubham, co-author of the study, adds: "A wide variety of hydrated minerals are known in this area of Mars, spanning a long period of Mars' history."
He further emphasizes: "In a sense, this large volcano is a long-sought 'decisive evidence'."
According to a statement, the size of the volcano and its complex history of change indicate that it was active for a very long period of time.
In the southeastern part of the volcano, the research team discovered a thin, relatively new volcanic deposit, which is probably covered by glacial ice.
Mars volcano is higher than Mount Everest
Despite the discovery, many questions surrounding the giant volcano remain unanswered.
It is known to have been active for a very long period of time and to have formed in the early days of Mars, but exactly when is unclear.
It is also uncertain whether the volcano is still active and could possibly erupt again.
The research team also wonders whether the combination of volcanic heat and water ice could have enabled life in the region.
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For this reason, the region could be an interesting place for future research, especially in the search for possible life.
The potential presence of water ice at shallow depths on the equator could be of great interest for future space missions, as humans could potentially use the water for themselves and as rocket fuel.
Newly discovered volcano on Mars is a 'prime site' for searching for life
Researcher Lee emphasizes: “It is a combination of things that makes the Noctis volcano exceptionally exciting.
It is an ancient and long-lived volcano, eroded so deeply that one could traverse it on foot, by car or by plane to examine various parts of its interior, take samples and date them, and thus trace the evolution of the volcano “To study Mars over time.”
He adds that the interaction of heat with water and ice makes the newly discovered volcano a "prime location for astrobiology and our search for signs of life."
The “Noctis Volcano” doesn’t look like a normal volcano because it eroded over time.
That's why it has only now been discovered on Mars.
© Background images: NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) mosaic and Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) digital elevation model.
Geologic interpretation & annotations by Pascal Lee & Sourabh Shubham 2024)
The study used, among other things, images of the NASA space probes “Mariner 9”, “Viking 1” and “Viking 2”, “Mars Global Surveyor” as well as the newer space probes “Mars Odyssey”, “Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter” and the ESA probe “Mars Express” used.
The oldest of these space probes, “Mariner 9,” was active until 1972 and shows how long the volcano was overlooked by researchers.
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