‘Smiley’ face discovered on Mars may hint at life on the red planet
Wouldn’t you be happy too?
The European Space Agency has found a “smiley” face on the surface of Mars — and the joy-sparking pattern could be a sign of life on the bright red dot.
The purplish hue, seen by ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, evokes a grinning — or perhaps still-faced emoji — and is made of ancient chloride salt deposits surrounding craters, the agency announced on Instagram.
“Once a world of rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans, Mars now reveals its secrets through chloride salt deposits,” the ESA wrote. “These deposits, remnants of ancient water bodies, could indicate habitable zones from billions of years ago.”
The space photos serve a larger purpose beyond solar system art. They are part of an August study that mapped nearly 1,000 of the salt deposits across Elon Musk’s favorite planet.
While the scale of the smiley face is yet to be known, the range for all of the structures is between 1,000 and 10,000 feet wide, the report in Scientific Data notes.
And, they “can provide optimal conditions for biological activity and preservation,” making these “a prime target for astrobiological exploration,” according to the research team.
ESA planetary scientist Valentin Bickel added that the presence of salt deposits, because of their solubility in water, “are markers for early Mars’s aqueous past and could indicate the last time a region was covered by water.”
“The new data has important implications for our understanding of the distribution of water on early Mars, as well as its past climate and habitability,” he said.
Most likely, the salt deposits had been formed from a “shallow pond of water or brine” which had evaporated in the sun’s light, according to Valentin.
“People use a similar method to produce salt for human consumption in saltwater pools on Earth,” the scientist noted.
For now though, experts are perfectly fine to wear the latest data with a grin.
“Sometimes, salt deposits on Mars seem to smile back at you,” the ESA added.
