NYU Abu Dhabi Scientists Find Evidence of Water on Mars

Scientists at New York University Abu Dhabi have discovered geological evidence that water once moved beneath the surface of Mars — suggesting the planet’s subsurface may have remained habitable far longer than previously believed. Their findings, published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, come from an analysis of ancient sand dunes in Gale Crater observed by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which appear to have turned into rock after interacting with underground water billions of years ago. The research, led by Dimitra Atri, Principal Investigator of NYUAD’s Space Exploration Laboratory, with research assistant Vignesh Krishnamoorthy, found that water from a nearby Martian mountain seeped through small cracks, soaking the sand from below and leaving behind minerals such as gypsum—also found in Earth’s deserts. These minerals can trap and preserve traces of organic material, making such subsurface deposits prime targets for future missions seeking signs of past life. The team compared Curiosity data with rock formations in the UAE desert that formed under similar environmental conditions on Earth. The study was supported by the NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute and conducted at the Centre for Astrophysics and Space Science, in collaboration with James Weston of the Core Technology Platform and Panče Naumov’s research group.