Mars Doesn't Have as Many Minerals as Earth

Scientists have identified nearly 6,000 different minerals on Earth, but they've only found 161 on Mars. Our ability to detect minerals on Mars is limited to spacecraft, rovers, and Martian meteorites, but you'd expect more to turn up. According to a new paper, this is due to fewer ways minerals can form on Mars. Mars lacks plate tectonics, and there's no widescale evidence of life, both triggering the formation of new minerals. 

#mars

https://phys.org/news/2023-09-mars-minerals-earth.html

https://m.universetoday.com/system/media_attachments/files/111/026/122/407/435/158/original/afd7a3f6ecb181c9.jpg 

 @6a30a78d Maybe that's a new way to check other planets for life: how many minerals we can detect on them from afar.

Of course, we should use similar technology and limitations to analyze Earth for minerals to see if that serves as a realistic baseline.