Mars in the past was hot and wet, not cold—new research confirms.

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1. Why Mars is important for Earth research – Studying Martian minerals helps understand Earth's possible future and prospects for colonizing a neighboring planet.

- Recent data on ore at Mars' surface show that billions of years ago the planet could have had a warm, wet climate – contradicting the old cold-climate theory with ice accumulation.

2. Debates about historical habitability – Scientists have been discussing for decades whether Mars could have supported life in antiquity.

- Both planets, Earth and Mars, formed roughly at the same time (≈ 4.5 billion years ago).

- New research concerns the Noachian period of Martian geology – from 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago, when intense bombardment occurred.

3. Remaining traces of bombardment – Two large impact craters remain on Mars: Hellas and Argyre (diameter – several thousand kilometers).

- During this period, according to the latest data, large lakes and rivers could have existed; it remains a mystery how exactly the climate looked.

4. Two main hypotheses about Noachian climate
1. Ice model – The surface was covered with glaciers that periodically melted under meteorite impacts and volcanic eruptions.
2. Warm model – Extensive bodies of water, milder climate, and almost no ice existed.

5. Role of the Sun and atmosphere – In the Noachian period the Sun was ≈ 30 % dimmer, so Mars received less heat.

- To maintain a wet climate, the Martian atmosphere had to be denser and richer in greenhouse gases (CO₂).

- At high CO₂ pressure it would condense into clouds, reducing the greenhouse effect – this makes the ice model more plausible.

6. What Perseverance rover showed
Location/Event | Result | Former lake bed (2021) | Study of clay deposits | Findings
---|---|---|---|---
Found kaolinite crystals rich in aluminum. They indicate active water influence during the Noachian period. | Composition of rocks | Chemical analysis | Rocks depleted in iron and magnesium but enriched in titanium and aluminum – typical for a liquid environment at positive temperatures. | Ezerov crater (last year) | Geological samples | Possible presence of biological traces; they are stored in special containers that will be delivered to Earth by future expeditions.

7. What this means for life – Comparing Martian clay rocks with terrestrial analogs formed in warm, wet periods suggests the possible existence of a diverse biosphere on Mars.

- Such conditions could have existed for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.

Conclusion: New data from Perseverance confirm that Mars in the distant past could have had a warm, wet climate, but the exact model remains subject to scientific debate. Colonization and the search for signs of life continue to be priority tasks for future missions to the Red Planet.