Researchers have pinpointed a previously unknown mineral on Mars, indicating the red planet’s surface may be more actively changing than previously believed. While scientists have a solid understanding of Mars’ surface appearance, uncovering its precise composition remains a challenge.
Recently, a team of researchers believes they have identified a completely new mineral, derived from an unusual layer of iron sulfate exhibiting a distinctive spectral signature. In a paper published on August 5 in Nature Communications, astrobiologists led by Janice Bishop from the SETI Institute detailed the detection of an uncommon ferric hydroxysulfate mineral near Valles Marineris, a colossal canyon that runs along Mars’ equator. The region, thought to have once hosted flowing water, could hold vital clues about the natural forces that shaped the planet’s surface and whether microbes once inhabited Mars.
Sulfur, a common element on both Mars and Earth, frequently bonds with other elements to create sulfate minerals. These sulfates dissolve readily in water, but because Mars has been dry for so long, these minerals likely remained on the surface since the planet lost its liquid water. Examining these minerals can reveal crucial insights into Mars’ early environmental conditions.
The research team focused on sulfate-rich zones near Valles Marineris, targeting areas that displayed unusual spectral signals from orbit, as well as layered sulfate deposits and notable geological features, Bishop explained in a statement.
In one region, they discovered layered deposits of polyhydrated sulfates, beneath which lay monohydrated and ferric hydroxysulfates.
Laboratory experiments showed that the ferric hydroxysulfate observed on Mars could only have formed in the presence of oxygen, with the formation process releasing water. These conditions also suggest it formed at high temperatures, pointing to volcanic activity as a likely source. The mineral’s unique structure and thermal properties indicate it may be entirely new to science.
Bishop explained that the material we produced in the lab seems to be a new mineral due to its unique crystal structure and thermal stability. However, we must find this mineral on Earth first before we can officially recognize it as a new mineral species.
This is not the first time researchers have potentially discovered new minerals on Mars. Back in March 2025, Roger Wiens, a Mars exploration expert and a professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at Purdue University in Indiana, directed NASA’s Perseverance rover to target some unusually pale rocks on the Martian surface with its laser. He and his team found that these rocks contain unusually high levels of aluminum linked to the mineral kaolinite. This finding was notable on its own, but what truly made it remarkable is that kaolinite typically forms only in very warm and wet conditions. Their discovery, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, indicates that Mars might have been more Earth-like—warmer, wetter, and more complex—than scientists previously believed.