NASA's Curiosity Rover Uncovers Clues to the Mysteries of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring the surface of Mars since 2012, and now its discoveries are giving us insight into the planet’s past. In a new study, researchers have analyzed Curiosity’s findings and determined that Mars was once a wetter and warmer world than it is today. This evidence suggests that the planet had the potential to support life in the distant past. The researchers found that Curiosity had gathered data on a variety of minerals that were indicative of the past environment, such as carbonates and silica-rich materials. They also noted that Curiosity had discovered evidence of clays which are usually formed in the presence of water. This indicates that Mars had once been much wetter than it is now and had a thicker atmosphere which allowed for the presence of liquid water. The findings of this study indicate that Mars was a much more hospitable place billions of years ago, and could have been capable of supporting life.
source: Phys.org