Following ancient rain toward life-related chemistry clues on Mars
Image: BBC News
ad slot · in-content video 16:9
Coverage
Wires & papers of record
- The US space agency says ancient rocks at Clachtoll have similarities to those on the Red Planet.
More coverage
- Although Mars may have once resembled Earth, the rocky red planet now appears far from hospitable. Still, certain details—such as ice-bound water—pique researchers' curiosity. As on Earth, ice on Mars contains valuable records of past climate that could reveal whether the planet hosts, or has ever…
- Four and a half billion years ago, Earth and Mars were born in the rotating cloud of gas and dust that would eventually become our solar system. Yet exactly how the planets formed remains one of the most disputed questions in planetary science.
- The Mars we know today is a cold, dry world of dust and rocks. However, around 3.8–3.6 billion years ago, it may have looked very different. Geological and mineral evidence suggests that, in its distant past, the planet experienced periods warm and wet enough for water to exist on its surface,…