NASA’s recent discovery, released on July 2, indicates that Mars has remained a desert-like environment, with intermittent rivers flowing across its surface. This finding helps explain why the Red Planet has not shown any signs of life, in stark contrast to Earth, which it closely resembles.
Evidence suggests that Mars once possessed the essential ingredients for life, particularly water. The planet’s surface still bears remnants of ancient lakes and rivers.
Current missions involving several robotic rovers on Mars focus on searching for potential signs of life that may have existed millions of years ago. Earlier this year, the Curiosity rover uncovered a key piece of this puzzle: mineral-rich rocks that resemble Earth’s limestone. These rocks formed as carbon dioxide was absorbed from the atmosphere, creating sponge-like structures.
A new study published in the journal “Nature” offers a detailed model of how these rocks may reshape scientific understanding of Mars’s past.
Planetary scientist Edwin Kite from the University of Chicago explained that Mars likely experienced brief periods where life was feasible in specific locations and times, though these “oases” were exceptions rather than the norm.
However, Kite noted that Mars had a “low” rate of carbon-rich volcanic gas emissions compared to Earth, contributing to a thermal imbalance that made the planet cooler and less conducive to life.
Ultimately, researchers aim to address one of humanity’s most pressing questions: Is Earth the only planet known to host life?
Astronomers have identified approximately 6,000 exoplanets to date, but these distant worlds are so far away that obtaining samples from them appears impossible.
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