Ari Shapiro

Well, possibly. We've at least learned that some of the conditions necessary for life could have been present a long time ago, because scientists have found more evidence that there might have been hydrothermal vents on Mars.

Well, possibly. We've at least learned that some of the conditions necessary for life could have been present a long time ago, because scientists have found more evidence that there might have been hydrothermal vents on Mars.

Yes, exactly. They spew out hot liquid mixed with gases and minerals. Hydrothermal vents are discussed a lot as a theoretical origin point for life on Earth. You can actually hear a lot about it in a shortwave episode Gina did a few weeks ago. But yeah, we could talk about that forever, so we shouldn't get too into it.

Yes, exactly. They spew out hot liquid mixed with gases and minerals. Hydrothermal vents are discussed a lot as a theoretical origin point for life on Earth. You can actually hear a lot about it in a shortwave episode Gina did a few weeks ago. But yeah, we could talk about that forever, so we shouldn't get too into it.

Yes, exactly. They spew out hot liquid mixed with gases and minerals. Hydrothermal vents are discussed a lot as a theoretical origin point for life on Earth. You can actually hear a lot about it in a shortwave episode Gina did a few weeks ago. But yeah, we could talk about that forever, so we shouldn't get too into it.

Yeah. So something that is really important to note about this rock is that the meteorite has zircon in it, which is a mineral that is very nice to have if you're a geologist, because you can date when it was formed. Scientists use zircon all the time to date rocks on Earth.

Yeah. So something that is really important to note about this rock is that the meteorite has zircon in it, which is a mineral that is very nice to have if you're a geologist, because you can date when it was formed. Scientists use zircon all the time to date rocks on Earth.

Yeah. So something that is really important to note about this rock is that the meteorite has zircon in it, which is a mineral that is very nice to have if you're a geologist, because you can date when it was formed. Scientists use zircon all the time to date rocks on Earth.

One of the researchers who's been studying this, geologist Aaron Kavosi, explained to me that they tried to get as much information as they could out of this rare bit of ancient zircon, despite its tiny size.

One of the researchers who's been studying this, geologist Aaron Kavosi, explained to me that they tried to get as much information as they could out of this rare bit of ancient zircon, despite its tiny size.

One of the researchers who's been studying this, geologist Aaron Kavosi, explained to me that they tried to get as much information as they could out of this rare bit of ancient zircon, despite its tiny size.

So what Aaron and his team did next was look at zircons on Earth, zircons from all kinds of different environments, trying to figure out what conditions could make zircon look like this. And they found an example of a zircon with this onion-like pattern that was found in a hydrothermal vent on Earth.

So what Aaron and his team did next was look at zircons on Earth, zircons from all kinds of different environments, trying to figure out what conditions could make zircon look like this. And they found an example of a zircon with this onion-like pattern that was found in a hydrothermal vent on Earth.

So what Aaron and his team did next was look at zircons on Earth, zircons from all kinds of different environments, trying to figure out what conditions could make zircon look like this. And they found an example of a zircon with this onion-like pattern that was found in a hydrothermal vent on Earth.

Yeah, and while liquid water on Mars may not be new news exactly, this research suggests Mars once had this hot liquid crust, maybe even way back at the beginning. But talking to other researchers in the field, more evidence is needed before we can say that this is likely the case.

Yeah, and while liquid water on Mars may not be new news exactly, this research suggests Mars once had this hot liquid crust, maybe even way back at the beginning. But talking to other researchers in the field, more evidence is needed before we can say that this is likely the case.

Yeah, and while liquid water on Mars may not be new news exactly, this research suggests Mars once had this hot liquid crust, maybe even way back at the beginning. But talking to other researchers in the field, more evidence is needed before we can say that this is likely the case.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.