ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter detected hydrogen chloride seeping up through fissures at Alba Mons, Space.com reports. On Earth, that gas comes from magma.
- Alba Mons is in the Tharsis region with Olympus Mons, and it’s the biggest volcano on Mars by area
- Past imagery suggested activity in the last few million years, and seismometers have picked up marsquakes, but nobody had seen eruptions
- The team says Mars “has retained enough internal heat to support volcanic activity until recently, and possibly still does”
My take
“Needle in a haystack” is right. Olympus Mons as a sleeping giant is a fun thought.
God Bless, and Use the Source!
