Scientists from the University of Kerala have identified locations in Tamil Nadu and Chile that could help researchers better understand the geological history of Mars, particularly the role of water in shaping the planet’s surface.
The research focuses on two hydrous sulphate minerals: melanterite, identified at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu, and gypsum, found in the Tiruchirappalli Badlands in Tamil Nadu and the Atacama Desert in Chile. Hydrous sulphates contain water as part of their mineral structure and can preserve evidence of the environmental conditions under which they formed.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: Identification and study of terrestrial mineral locations relevant to understanding Mars’ geological history.
Location: Neyveli and the Tiruchirappalli Badlands in Tamil Nadu, India, and the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Authority/Organisation: University of Kerala research team, with scientific infrastructure supported by the Department of Science and Technology’s DST-FIST programme.
Action Taken: Researchers used a laser Raman spectrometer to analyse melanterite and gypsum and investigate the geological processes associated with their formation.
Impact: The findings provide Earth-based comparisons that can help scientists interpret mineral signatures, past water activity and geological conditions on Mars.
The Department of Science and Technology highlighted the findings on October 16, 2026. The work was conducted by a research team from the University of Kerala using advanced mineral-analysis equipment, including a laser Raman spectrometer supported through the department’s Fund for Improvement of Science and Technology Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions (DST-FIST) programme.
The researchers used the instrument to examine the distinctive spectral signatures of minerals. Raman spectroscopy helps scientists identify materials by measuring how laser light interacts with molecular vibrations in a sample. Such analysis can distinguish minerals that may appear similar under ordinary visual inspection.
One of the findings concerns melanterite at Neyveli, a lignite-bearing region in Tamil Nadu. The mineral is associated with the oxidation of iron sulphide minerals and forms under particular chemical and moisture conditions. Its occurrence can therefore help researchers examine how short-lived wet conditions and chemical reactions may leave mineral records in geological material.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
Scientists cannot always determine a mineral’s full geological history from orbital observations alone. Different environments can produce minerals with similar spectral characteristics, even when the processes that formed them differ. Earth-based analogue research gives planetary scientists an opportunity to study those processes directly. By comparing samples from known geological settings with observations from Mars, researchers can improve the reliability of their interpretations. The work is also relevant to the broader search for potentially habitable environments beyond Earth. Minerals that record water-related processes can help scientists reconstruct past environmental conditions and decide which geological settings merit further investigation. Such research provides context for future missions, but it does not independently establish the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The relevance to Mars lies in the fact that scientists studying the planet have identified sulphate-bearing deposits that may record episodes of water activity. Understanding how similar minerals form on Earth helps researchers test possible explanations for the processes that created comparable materials on Mars.
The second part of the research examines gypsum from the Tiruchirappalli Badlands and Chile’s Atacama Desert. Although gypsum occurs at both locations, the geological processes responsible for its formation are not identical.
Research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets compares the two environments and examines how their mineral characteristics relate to gypsum detected at locations on Mars. The Atacama Desert is an extremely dry environment, while the Tiruchirappalli Badlands have a different climatic and geological history. Comparing the sites helps scientists understand why similar mineral signatures may develop through different processes.
This distinction is important for planetary research. A spacecraft orbiting Mars can measure the light reflected from the surface and identify spectral features associated with particular minerals. However, a mineral’s spectral signature alone may not reveal exactly how it formed. Geological context and comparisons with Earth-based samples can help researchers narrow down possible explanations.
The studies also examine the scientific value of gypsum as a record of past aqueous environments. Water-related minerals can preserve information about earlier conditions, including how water interacted with rock and how the surrounding environment changed over time. Some mineral structures may also preserve material of interest to scientists investigating whether environments could once have supported microbial life.
That does not mean the discovery of gypsum or melanterite at these terrestrial locations demonstrates that life existed on Mars. Instead, the findings help scientists interpret geological evidence and identify the kinds of environments that deserve closer examination during planetary exploration.
The University of Kerala team is continuing to investigate unusual geological environments under the same research programme. Studying rare minerals and their formation under contrasting conditions could expand the reference material available to planetary scientists working with data collected by orbiters and other space missions.
The research also highlights the importance of university laboratories and scientific infrastructure in space exploration. While spacecraft and planetary rovers receive much of the public attention, laboratory instruments on Earth are essential for understanding the materials detected remotely on other worlds.
For India, the work demonstrates how domestic geological research can contribute to international planetary science without requiring every investigation to take place directly on Mars. By studying comparable minerals and environments on Earth, researchers can improve the interpretation of data gathered by future planetary missions.
