A Brock University-led research team, working with the Royal Ontario Museum, has identified a mineral on Mars for the first time.
Scientists say garnet, a deep-red gemstone found on Earth has been detected in a fragment of a Martian meteorite in the ROM’s collection.
The discovery was made by re-analysing a sample that initially appeared to contain a more common mineral.
Brock Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Tanya Kizovski say garnet forms under intense heat and pressure, and on Mars it may point to volcanic activity or meteorite impacts in the planet’s past.
(Written by: Brandon Warby)