19. August 2026
(CONNECT) An international collaboration involving the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) has achieved a methodological breakthrough in Mars research. For the first time, hydrogen has been mapped in three dimensions using a non-destructive method. To achieve this, teams from the PSI in the canton of Aargau, the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the Swedish MAX IV Laboratory in Lund combined two complementary imaging techniques: neutron and X-ray tomography. According to a statement, the neutron measurements were conducted at the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source (SINQ) at PSI.
The researchers examined a piece of Martian rock known as “Black Beauty”, which was hurled toward Earth many millions of years ago. Black Beauty contains material from different eras of the Martian crust and according to the researchers, it also includes the oldest known rock samples from Mars. Traces of water have now been visualized inside the rock.
According to the statement, neutrons are particularly sensitive to hydrogen. “In combination with X-ray tomography, we were not only able to detect tiny hydrated minerals, but also, for the first time, visualise larger, macroscopic hydrogen deposits,” explained PSI scientist David Mannes. He performed the neutron tomography at PSI together with his colleague Anders Kaestner.
On the one hand, the project shows that water must have been present on Mars very early in the planet’s history. Processes such as volcanic activity caused the water to react with the rock. On the other hand, the project represents a methodological breakthrough, because until now it was only possible to make quantitative statements about the bulk water content of the rock. Now, the method provides a picture of how hydrated minerals are distributed throughout the meteorite as a whole. The same method could reportedly be applied to larger samples. The PSI states that it is ready to analyze rock samples from celestial bodies should they become available in the future. ce/yvh
