SYDNEY, Oct 17: An Australian study has produced the first comprehensive classification system and map of Martian soils, offering a framework to help scientists identify potential locations for future exploration, habitation and food production.
The research classifies almost 800 million locations across Mars into a hierarchy of 2,000 soil classes using orbital observations and models, presenting a global map showing where they occur, according to a statement released by Australia's University of Sydney.
"Scientists have mapped Mars' geology, mineralogy and chemistry before, but our system brings together multiple properties into a single framework, helping us understand how different Martian soils relate to one another and where they're found," said Daniel Irving, a PhD student at the university, who led the research.
The classification system groups Martian soils into 10 major "realms," 100 "assemblages" and 2,000 detailed "forms" based on properties including texture, mineralogy, pH and profile thickness. As a proof of concept, researchers assessed the soil classes for characteristics relevant to plant production. One class, Nohibareth, emerged as the most promising candidate, scoring 0.93 on a scale from zero to one.
However, researchers stressed that the findings do not mean crops could be grown directly in Martian soil. Future habitats would require controlled environments, water, nutrients and treatment of potentially harmful substances.
Published in the soil science journal Catena, the study proposes a term "areths" for Martian soil classes, derived from Ares, the Greek name for Mars.
The team said further experiments on Earth could test Mars-like soil mixtures representing the mapped classes under controlled conditions, while future rover measurements and samples from Mars could help verify the models.
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