Feb 08, 2017 10:45 AM EST By Ava Jones, UniversityHerald Reporter

It may take a few more decades before people will set foot on Mars, but scientists have already been studying Martian geology with the meteorites from the planet that has landed on Earth's surface a long time ago. Researchers studying a meteorite from Mars found in Algeria in 2012 suggest that the Red Planet may have a volcano that has been erupting unceasingly for over 2 billion years.

Martian Volcano Fast Facts

A research published in the journal Science Advances just this week suggests that the meteorite from Mars that was found in North Africa was ejected from the Red Planet some 2.4 billion years ago, Smithsonian reported. The meteorite weighs about 0.44 pounds and is part of a group of 11 samples that were all ejected from Mars some 1.1 million years ago. But the rock from North Africa is different from the other 10 in the sample.

Data Recorded from Mars meteorite ejection

Purdue University physicist and astronomer Marc Caffee, who is the co-author of the paper said that the findings suggest that there is a particular location on the surface of Mars that steadily spews magma for more than 2 billion years. Even though astronauts haven't set foot on Mars, scientists here on Earth can already study the geology of the Red Planet thanks to these meteorites, Purdue University reported.

The tectonic plates of Mars are more complicated compared to the ones found on Earth. The churning activities in the planet could suggest that it once looked like Earth a long time ago. Mars can also handle giant volcanoes, like the Olympus Mons, which is the biggest volcano found in the solar system.

Meanwhile, researchers found that Tharsis Bulge, which is the volcano-covered area of the planet has spewed billions of tons of lave causing the top surface of the planet to shift. The scientists, however, still couldn't identify which volcano does the 2.4 billion-year-old meteorite came from.

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