The Sampadak Express News Desk
Researchers from Kerala University have identified two key minerals at sites in Tamil Nadu and Chile’s Atacama Desert that mirror Martian geology, establishing these locations as Martian analogue sites, The Hindu reported on October 20, 2026. The team led by Sajin Kumar K.S., Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and project coordinator, DST-FIST, found melanterite at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and gypsum in both the Atacama Desert and the Tiruchirappalli Badlands, a semi-arid geological and paleoclimatic terrain in Tamil Nadu.
Both minerals are hydrous sulphates that record water–rock interactions. According to the researchers, gypsum preserves evidence of past aqueous environments, while melanterite indicates short-lived wet, acidic and oxidising conditions. These processes are considered relevant to those inferred on Mars, making the terrestrial occurrences valuable analogues for understanding past water activity and potentially habitable environments on the Red Planet.
The study notes that identifying terrestrial analogue sites has become increasingly important as orbital data alone cannot fully characterise Martian minerals. The team used advanced instrumentation, including a laser Raman spectrometer supported by the DST-FIST (Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions) programme, to detect distinctive spectral fingerprints and confirm the minerals’ identification.
The findings are detailed in two research papers published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. The authors say the work could advance planetary science by improving understanding of past habitable environments on Mars and other planetary bodies. Recognising minerals capable of recording water activity and preserving biosignatures can also help steer future planetary missions toward the most promising targets in the search for evidence of life beyond Earth.
The team is now focusing on rare analogue sites in extreme conditions around the world to study primitive life for astrobiological research, using the same facility.
