Scientists from New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have uncovered new evidence that water once flowed beneath the surface of Mars, revealing that the planet may have remained habitable for life much longer than previously thought.
The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets, shows that ancient sand dunes in Gale Crater—a region explored by NASA’s Curiosity rover—gradually turned into rock after interacting with underground water billions of years ago.
Led by Dimitra Atri, Principal Investigator of NYUAD’s Space Exploration Laboratory, with research assistant Vignesh Krishnamoorthy, the research team compared data from the Curiosity rover with rock formations in the UAE desert that formed under similar environmental conditions on Earth.
Abu Dhabi scientists make Mars breakthrough
They discovered that water from a nearby Martian mountain once seeped into the dunes through small cracks, soaking the sand from below and leaving behind minerals such as gypsum—the same mineral found in Earth’s deserts.
These minerals can trap and preserve traces of organic material, making them valuable targets for future missions seeking evidence of past life.
Atri said: “Our findings show that Mars didn’t simply go from wet to dry. Even after its lakes and rivers disappeared, small amounts of water continued to move underground, creating protected environments that could have supported microscopic life.”
New clues to life on Mars
The discovery provides fresh insight into how Mars evolved over time and highlights the potential of subsurface environments as promising sites to search for signs of ancient life.
The NYUAD Research Institute supported the study, which researchers conducted at NYUAD’s Centre for Astrophysics and Space Science. The centre leads innovative research to advance understanding of the universe and contributes to the UAE’s growing role in global space exploration.
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