by Why is Mars sterile and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived on our relatively similar planet Earth?
A discovery of a NASA Rover has given an indication of this secret, according to New Research on Wednesday, which indicates that rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, but for the most part it was a desert planet.
It is believed that Mars currently has all the necessary ingredients for life, apart from the most important: liquid water.
However, the red surface is worked out by old rivers and lakes, which shows that water once flowed on our next neighbor.
There are currently several rovers who are looking for signs of life for Mars who could have existed millions of years ago in these habitable times.
At the beginning of this year, the Curiosity Rover of the NASA discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: stones that are rich in carbonate minerals.
These “carbonates” – like limestone on earth – act as a sponge for carbon dioxide, pull them out of the atmosphere and catch them in stone.
A new study published in the Nature magazine modeled exactly how the existence of these rocks could change our understanding of the past of Mars.
– short ‘oases’ – –
The leading study author Edwin Kite, a planetary scientist at the University of Chicago and a member of the Curiosity team, said AFP said that there was “Blips of Estableness in some painting” and places on Mars.
But these “oases” were more the exception than the rule.
On earth, carbon dioxide heats the planet in the atmosphere. The carbon is enclosed in rocks such as carbonates over long periods.
Then volcanic outbreaks spit out the gas back into the atmosphere, which creates a balanced climate cycle, which supports the flowing water.
However, Mars has a “weak” volcanic rate compared to the earth, said Kite. This throws out the balance and leaves Mars much colder and less hospitable.
According to modeling research, the short periods of liquid water on the Mars of 100 million years followed Karre desert – a long time until everything can survive.
It is still possible that on the Mars we have not yet found, bags with liquid water are deep underground, said Kite.
The perseverance of NASA, which landed on an old Marsdelta in 2021, also found signs of carbonates on the edge of the dry lake.
Next, the scientists hope to discover further evidence of carbonates.
Kite said the best evidence would return the return of rock samples from the Marsian surface to earth – both the United States and China run this in the next decade.
– Are we alone? – –
Ultimately, scientists are looking for an answer to one of the big questions: How often are planets like earth that can accommodate life?
Astronomers have discovered almost 6,000 planets beyond our solar system since the early 1990s.
But scientists can only study stones for Mars and Earth that enable them to understand the planet’s past, said Kite.
If we find that Mars never houses tiny microorganisms in its aqueous times, this would point out that it is difficult to start life throughout the universe.
But if we discover the proof of old life, “would” basically tell us that the origin of life at a planetary level is easy, “said Kite.
DL/GIV
