Mars once hosted fresh water lakes and a functioning carbon cycle
In short: The Red Planet was once more than a frozen wasteland. New analysis of rock powder from the Curiosity rover reveals a past featuring fresh water lakes—not salty or acidic—and a climate that mirrors the conditions required for life to emerge.
Analysis of rock powder collected by the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater provides a window into a habitable past. The data reveals that Mars once hosted lakebeds filled with fresh water, rather than the harsh, salty, or acidic environments often associated with the planet's history. This suggests that the environment possessed the fundamental ingredients necessary to support microbial life billions of years ago.
Recent simulations have significantly extended the timeline of this habitability. While the Noachian period (4.1 to 3.5 billion years ago) is traditionally cited as the primary habitable era, new research suggests Mars may have remained habitable for about 500 million years longer, extending into the late Hesperian age. This period may have featured a 'cold and wet' climate where a northern ocean remained liquid due to ocean circulation bringing warmth from mid-latitudes, even when global temperatures were below freezing.
The transition from a habitable world to a barren one may have been driven by a collapsing carbon cycle. Scientists discovered iron-rich carbonates, such as siderite, in deposits that likely formed through wet-dry cycles or extreme evaporation. These minerals suggest that as the atmosphere thinned, carbon dioxide began to precipitate into stone. This process could have trapped up to 36 millibars of atmospheric carbon dioxide, potentially stripping the planet of the warmth needed to sustain liquid water and highlighting the fragility of planetary habitability.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Mars Once Habitable on This Week @NASA
- Also: NASA-Funded Study Extends Period When Mars Could Have Supported Life - NASA
- Also: NASA's Curiosity rover finds major clue that Mars was once habitable | Space
- Also: NASA Science — NASA: New Insights into How Mars Became Uninhabitable - NASA Science
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